At a time when India and Pakistan are caught in the web of a dispute over the sharing of Indus water after the terrorist attack on Uri Army Base, in the eastern part of India, China did not take much time and blocked a tributary of the Brahmaputra River in Tibet as part of the construction of its “most expensive” hydro project which could cause concern in India as it may impact water flows into the lower riparian countries. The Lalho project on Xiabuqu River, a tributary of Yarlung Zangbo (the Tibetan name for Brahmaputra), in Xigaze in Tibet involves an investment of 4.95 billion Yuan ($740 million). Xigaze also known as Shigatse is closely located to Sikkim. From Xigaze, the Brahmaputra flows into Arunachal Pradesh. The project began in 2014 and was scheduled to be completed by 2019. It is not clear yet what impact the blockade of the river will have on the flow of water from the Brahmaputra into the lower riparian countries like India and Bangladesh. Last year, China had operationalised the $1.5 billion Zam Hydropower Station, the largest in Tibet, built on the Brahmaputra River, which has raised concerns in India. But China has been maintaining that it has taken into consideration India’s concerns and allays apprehensions of restricting the flow of water, saying its dams are run of the river projects not designed to hold water. The outline of China’s 12th Five Year Plan indicates that three more hydropower projects on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra River in Tibet Autonomous Region have been approved for implementation. While there is no water treaty between the countries, India and China established an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on trans-border rivers and in October 2013 the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers under which Beijing provides data to India on the water flows. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang gave a guarded reply when asked on 27th September about India’s reported move Indus Water Treaty. Some of the rivers under the Indus Water Treaty originate in China.
