Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s decision to attend a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the ‘Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression’ and the ‘World Anti-Fascist War’ at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 3 has sparked a controversy, with experts urging caution when it comes to such loaded international issues.

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, 26 foreign leaders will attend the victory day parade in Beijing, China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei announced on Thursday at a press conference.

After completing his engagements in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025 in Tianjin, Oli will travel to Beijing to attend the ceremony.

Hong said the Chinese president, also the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, will deliver important remarks and a gala will be held for party and state leaders in Beijing.

Other leaders showing up for the Tiananmen Square military parade include President of Russia Vladimir Putin, North Korean President Kim Jong Un, King of Cambodia Norodom Sihamoni, President of Vietnam Luong Cuong and leaders from Lao, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Maldives, Pakistan, Kazakhstan Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, Congo, Zimbabwe, Serbia, Slovakia, Cuba and Myanmar.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will be flanked by leaders of some of the world's most heavily sanctioned nations—Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar—at a military parade next week in Beijing, in a show of solidarity against the West, the newswire Reuters reported.

From Nepal, President Ramchandra Paudel was first invited to attend and observe the parade. However, he was advised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to attend the event as he is a recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun from Japan in 2022. Nor would it look good for a ceremonial head of state to take part in such political events.

Coinciding with the celebrations marking the 70th year of diplomatic relations between Nepal and China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had requested the Chinese side to give Oli’s visit official status but the Chinese side refused to do so.

A letter was sent by the foreign ministry to the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu to upgrade the status of the visit to “official” but when the Chinese side declined, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday announced that “Oli is paying a visit to China from August 30 to September 3.”

Expressing its reservations with China’s plan to organise the military parade against the Japanese, Tokyo has already sent diplomatic notes to several countries, urging them to refrain from attending it.

Whether the Japanese government has sent a diplomatic note to the Nepal government is unclear. The Japanese embassy did not respond to an email by the Post requesting information on whether it has lodged a protest against Nepal’s participation.

“As Japan is our long-term development partner, donor and the host of a sizable Nepali diaspora, we have to be sensitive to its interest,” said a Nepali diplomat who has served as an ambassador to various countries. “Nepal’s participation does not give a positive message.”

Oli’s party, CPN-UML, defends his decision to visit Beijing for the victory parade. “It’s like attending India’s Independence Day, which is against British rule,” said Pradeep Gyawali, a UML deputy general secretary and former foreign minister.

But India’s independence movement is different from the war between China and Japan. Historical records and archives show that hundreds of thousands of Indians were killed during the two-century long British colonial rule in India.

“No one can erase history. And such a ceremony is not held every year. Moreover, it is marked on special occasions, like this year. The prime minister might have decided to attend it as the Chinese are marking the 80th year of the war.,” said Gyawali.

In 2015, China held its first such parade to celebrate its victory against Japanese aggression.

Another group of leaders believe Nepal could have sent a delegation under a former prime minister, a minister or the Speaker or the deputy Speaker to observe the parade.

“If the parade was against a far-off country that does not have much engagement with us, it would not matter,” said a Nepali Congress leader, asking not to be named. “As both China and Japan are friendly nations who have been supporting us for decades, it is not a good idea to attend a ceremony that undermines the interests of either of those countries.”

“We should be mindful of our partnership and engagements with Japan and the economic assistance it has been providing to us for decades,” the Congress leader added.

Former foreign minister Rameshnath Pandey called the upcoming prime ministerial visit an “unnecessary headache created by our leaders”.

“At a time when the world is geared for a geopolitical reset and powerful nations are trying to stop the United States as a leader of the unipolar world by demolishing its hegemony, any adventurism of a country like Nepal located in a sensitive geography is a risky game,” said Pandey.

Prime Minister OIi is addressing Parliament on Friday to inform lawmakers on the upcoming visit to China, where he will address the SCO Plus forum and hold bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Chinese President Xi, among other leaders.

Former foreign secretary and ambassador Madhuraman Acharya expressed his surprise at the list of nations participating in the Beijing event.

“It’s against diplomatic practice, norms and tradition to stand for one country against another on a foreign soil. Some foreign ministers have had to resign for speaking against another country from a third country,” said Acharya.

“In foreign policy, you are forced to bend when you lose your spine,” he warned.