Beijing: China is planning to recruit Nepal's iconic Gurkha security personnel to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), media reports said Sunday.

This is an apparent effort by China, which under the Mao Zedong plan wanted to gobble up Nepal as one of the ‘Five Fingers’ of occupied Tibet, to exploit the Communist government in Nepal to create an anti-India sentiment in the Himalayan nation, reports The EurAsian Times.

The Nepalese iconic regiment has been recruited by the Indian Army and earlier in the British Army since 1815.

Later on, after the independence in 1947, the Indian Army retained six regiments of Gurkha soldiers while four went to the British Army as part of a tripartite agreement between India, Nepal, and the UK, reports the news portal.

In 1947, Pakistan was also said to have staked claim to Gorkha regiments, but Nepal did not consent to it. In fact, after the 1962 war with India, the PLA also requested Nepal Gurkha soldiers, but Nepal turned the request down.

This century-old link is now under duress owing to the new recruitment scheme of the Indian Army launched in 2022. It resulted in furor in both India and Nepal, the news portal reported.

The Indian establishment has been hoping that the recruitment process will commence once elections are over in Nepal, but still, there has been no movement.

“I really hope that the Nepal government will take a favorable view on it and start the recruitment process,” Lt Gen. DS Hooda (Retired) told the EurAsian Times.

“The recruitment is mutually beneficial as it gives them employment, and the Gorkha veterans act as goodwill ambassadors between the two countries,” Hooda said.

Rumors are rife about China exploring options to recruit Gorkhas in its rank and file, but it remains to be seen if Nepal is ready to take the drastic step, the news portal reported.

The relationship between India and Nepal has been rolling downhill in the last decade.

The India-backed economic blockade of Nepal has further pushed it towards China to counter its dependence on the former. China has been quick to step up.