China trying to consolidate position in Tibet by highlighting Mt. Everest on Tibetan side, says expert

In a surprising move, the official website of China Global Television Network (CGTN) has published a tweet with pictures of Mount Everest stating that "An extraordinary sun halo was spotted Friday in the skies over Mount Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest, the world's highest peak located in China's Tibet Autonomous Region."

As per experts, Nepal and China had signed a border dispute resolution agreement in 1960 according to which it was decided that Mount Everest will be divided, and southern part of it will belong to Nepal and Northern part to Tibet Autonomous Region which China claims as its own.

Speaking to ANI about the CGTN tweet, Professor of Chinese studies at Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Srikant Kondapali, said, "It is not a new thing, China is trying to consolidate its claims on Tibet and Everest."

"The Everest on the Tibet side is treacherous and very less used by the Chinese side, there is no trace of tourism from that side, as it is very steep and also visa is an issue," Srikant added.

The experts are more concerned about the installation of 5G network at the Everest.

Srikant Kondapalli said, "However, now they have mounted 5G at their side of the Everest, it is a controversial move as they can beam through the Himalayan range, there is a military component in 5G network, it is mounted 8000 metres above the sea level. They can snoop in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, post-Dalai Lama they will have leverage with this technology at the Himalayas."

The majority of tourism and expeditions on Mount Everest take place from Nepal, now with help of technology, China is also developing Tibet side of Everest and recent projection by the official website clearly reflects the ambitious plans of China and this move may become a bone of contention between Nepal and China. 

-ANI

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