Days after China announced the construction of the world’s largest dam on the Brahmaputra River, India has responded by saying that it will ‘protect its interests’. New Delhi also sent a reminder to Beijing asserting its rights to the waters of the river while seeking transparency over China’s mega construction plan in the environmentally sensitive Himalayan zone in Tibet.
Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in the weekly media briefing said that India will continue to monitor the latest developments, assuring that necessary and appropriate actions will be taken when required. He added, “We will continue to monitor and take necessary measures to protect our interests.”
Jaiswal also said that India has urged China to ensure that the interests of downstream states of the Brahmaputra are not harmed by activities in the upstream areas.
Indian views expressed to China: MEA spokesperson
When asked about the adverse impact the project can have on states like Arunachal Pradesh and Assan, Jaiswal responded, “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.”
Moreover, the dam on the Brahmaputra River will allow China to control the water flow as well as enable Beijing to release large amounts of water flooding border areas in times of hostilities, given the size and scale of the river. Notably, India is also building a dam over Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh.
How much the project will cost?
The total investment in the dam is expected to exceed one trillion yuan (USD 137 billion), which would dwarf any other single infrastructure project on the planet including China’s own Three Gorges Dam, regarded as the largest in the world, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.
The Brahmaputra dam was part of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 adopted by Plenum, a key policy body of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2020.
(With agency inputs)
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