The last week of 2024 brought news that the Chinese government had approved the construction of a hydropower dam on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river. The announcement has raised concerns and eyebrows in India over the project’s hydrological and environmental consequences downstream.

The Yarlung Tsangpo originates in Tibet and flows into India. In India, the river is known as the Siang in the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Brahmaputra in neighboring Assam state. The river then flows into Bangladesh, where it is joined by the Ganga. It finally empties itself into the Bay of Bengal.

The timing of the Chinese announcement on the dam is curious; it came weeks after India and China announced a thaw in ties, which had been in a deep freeze since the bloody clashes in Galwan Valley in the western sector of their disputed border in June 2020.

Following a meeting between Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi on December 18, an Indian government statement said they had discussed “data sharing on trans-border rivers,” among other issues. It is unclear whether this included any discussions on the latest dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo river.

India’s reaction to the Chinese announcement was noticeably sharp. On January 3, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said that as a “lower riparian state with established user rights to the waters of the river, we have consistently expressed, through expert-level as well as diplomatic channels, our views and concerns to the Chinese side over mega projects on rivers in their territory.”

India’s concerns were reiterated “along with need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries,” Jaiswal told reporters at a regular foreign office briefing. “The Chinese side has been urged to ensure that the interests of downstream states........

© The Diplomat