Nepal�s request for Chinese help was made on Nov 20 by Nepal�s Defence Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa of the Maoist party and Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam in their separate meetings with a visiting high-level Chinese military delegation, the report said. They discussed the possibility of China�s involvement in resolving the dispute over Kalapani. The area is part of Dharchula district in farwest Nepal where borders of Tibet, India and Nepal meet.

Bam Dev Gautam, who is also the deputy prime minister, has told the media after the meeting with the Chinese delegation that since Kalapani demarcated a tripartite border, the Nepal government felt the border talks should include all three countries.

The report noted that the Kalapani dispute started in 1962 after the Sino-India border conflict, during which Indian security forces gained control the area. Besides, Nepal shares over 1,800 km of open border with India and has border disputes in nearly half of its 75 districts.