In the isolated Himalayas, a 600-feet-long message on a hillside reads, “Long live the Chinese Communist Party,” visible from orbit. This grandiose declaration is just one manifestation of China’s extensive border fortifications, designed to reinforce remote reaches, control rebellious populations, and push into disputed territories.
Residents in Nepal’s Humla District claim China is encroaching on their territory, pressuring ethnic Tibetan Nepalis not to display images of the Dalai Lama, and dividing communities with barriers and defenses. Despite these concerns, Nepal’s leaders have refused to acknowledge China’s actions, fearing economic repercussions.
China’s fencing along Nepal’s Humla District is part of a thousands-of-miles-long network, built to assert Beijing’s territorial claims and redefine its borders. This aggressive expansion has led to skirmishes and conflicts with neighboring countries.
“Under Xi Jinping, China has doubled down on efforts to assert its territorial claims in disputed areas along its periphery,” said Brian Hart, a fellow at the China Power Project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The stream of Tibetans fleeing Chinese government repression has almost vanished, and ethnic Tibetan Nepalis face intimidation from Chinese security forces. “China is big and powerful, so it can do what it wants,” said Pema Wangmu Lama, a Tibetan-born Nepali resident.
A 2021 fact-finding report detailed China’s border abuses in Humla, including fortifications, closed-circuit TV cameras, and restrictions on grazing and religious activities. However, the report was suppressed, and Nepal’s foreign minister claimed she had not received complaints about border issues.
China’s border buildup has sparked concerns among global powers, leading to new alliances. Weaker states like Nepal face immense pressure due to the overwhelming power differential with China.
Nepal’s foreign minister, Arzu Rana Deuba, said she had not received complaints about problems on the border with Tibet and that the government’s focus was more on the southern boundary with India, where more Nepalis live. “We have not really thought much of looking at the northern border, at least I haven’t,” she said.
The distance from Simikot, the capital of Humla District, to the frontier village of Hilsa is 30 miles. But the drive to the border with Tibet takes more than 10 bone-jarring hours through rough, rocky terrain. Humla is unconnected to Nepal’s national road network.
History collides with China’s national mythmaking. In 1979, Chinese forces briefly invaded Vietnam, which China had once controlled for a millennium. Since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, China and India have fought two border wars.
The border fence separating Hilsa from Chinese-controlled Tibet cleaves not only nations but centuries. On the Chinese side, modern buildings feature glass atriums, armored vehicles glide along paved roads, and floodlights blaze in the night sky.
Ethnic Tibetans live in Nepal, which has become a destination for Chinese Tibetans fleeing Beijing’s effort to pacify ethnic minorities. Beijing considers a large swath of Indian-controlled territory along the Tibet-India boundary to be its own, calling it “South Tibet.”
The U.S. Department of Defense, in its 2023 China Military Power Report, declared that China has “adopted more dangerous, coercive, and provocative actions in the Indo-Pacific region.”
China’s hidden border war is reshaping the Himalayas, dividing communities, and sparking fears of territorial expansion. As Beijing continues to fortify its borders, the international community must pay attention to the human cost and the regional implications of China’s aggressive expansion.