The process of army integration, already highly debated and drawn out, is being further delayed because of the differing propsals being put forward by India and China.

It's not just the Chinese and Indians that are interested in Nepal's army integration, the British and the Americans are also rushing to Baluwatar and Singha Darbar with their ideas.

The Chinese have suggested that the Nepal Army should take in as many PLA recruits as their standards allow and the rest should be deployed in security in the eastern and northern borders. While China is ready to support that force because it believes it will help curtail pro-Tibet activities, India is not very keen on the idea.

India is putting more emphasis on the management than on integration of the PLA troops. It has proposed that rather than integrating the PLAs in the army, they should be employed in other security organisations, should be given vocational training or should be given opportunities for foreign employment.

Lately, the British too have been pressing for the rehabilitation of PLA troops rather than on integration. This has shaken the Maoist leadership because it was the British who, according to the Security Sector Reform (SSR), had first proposed that the PLAs should be integrated into the army.

The Nepal Army has also started to oppose the SSR model fearing it could be just a strategy to appoint Maoist leaders into the army. Maoist leader CP Gajurel of the party's foreign department was the one to introduce SSR as a concrete idea. The Maoists were trying to implement the SSR model and integrate the PLAs into the army, as well as keep UNMIN and the UN happy. However, it is unlikely that the UN will support the Maoists in their plans unless the US, which has not been very positive, agrees. The rumour now is that the Maoists are in search of a brand new model. The extension of UNMIN for six more months is actually a ploy to buy time and remain in the UN's good books.