Uttam Sinha’s Op-ed on China-India Water Issues Published in Millennium Post
February 12, 2013
Research Fellow, IDSA, Dr Uttam Sinha’s op-ed on China-India water issues, titled ‘World’s Most Dammed Country’ was published in the Millennium Post on February 12, 2013.
Excerpt
In the background of Chinese construction of dams on the upper reaches of the Brahamaputra in Tibet (called Yarlung Tsangpo), it is quite natural for India, as a lower riparian, to express concerns over the intended schemes even though it is, as China assures, run-of-the-river projects. With no binding legal framework except some accepted norms and principles, riparian dynamics, which are inherently contentious, are left to the political equation between the riparian concerned. Given the emerging water stresses in the region, hydrodiplomacy will be a critical component of India’s neighbourhood policy which from a hydrological point of view cannot exclude China. Therefore it is vital to understand China’s hydrobehaviour and put water into a broader context.
