evidence: The next day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal released a statement protesting the move and asserting its claim over these areas. The statement read, "[t]he Government of Nepal has consistently maintained that as per the Sugauli Treaty (1816), all the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) River, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh, belong to Nepal" (emphasis added). [...] This tenurial understanding of territory posed two problems to the British. First, the chieftains under the Gorkhalis would often subdue the bordering villages into paying their taxes to them. This irritated the company as they saw this as encroachment. And second, this meant that there was no stable, functional border that divided Nepal and the company territories. Borders shifted as and when the local elites were successful in striking the best possible bargain and realigning their relations in ways that would favor their interests.