Nepal’s Deadly Floods Put China and India on Edge

Catastrophic floods triggered by a glacial collapse and landslide on the Nepali side of the China-India border have killed more than 1,000 people, with thousands still missing, devastating villages and pilgrimage routes near Tibet's Mount Kailash. Indian commentators initially blamed a Chinese mega-dam project, prompting an angry denial from Beijing, even as China's own censorship of Tibet coverage limits outside knowledge of damage there.

Public anger in Nepal has instead settled on Kathmandu's own initial refusal to accept foreign search-and-rescue help, even as China and India both sent rescue teams and appear likely to compete for credit. The episode plays out against the backdrop of the long-running Himalayan territorial dispute between Beijing and New Delhi, and Nepal's attempt under reformist Prime Minister Balendra Shah to avoid being pulled fully into either camp.

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