Water as a Political Security Tool: The Himalaya’s Strategic Conundrum

Anwesha Mohanty
Abstract
Fresh water has no substitute, and its availability has been declining sharply around the globe. In Asia, China’s role as a multidirectional and trans-border water provider is debatable. Analysis of China’s behavior towards its trans-boundary rivers is, therefore, pivotal. This essay pits previously applied realist rationales against the more recent notion of de-securitization strategies. While de-securitization implies non- or de-escalation, it does not necessarily mean genuine long-term cooperation. The Brahmaputra River (BR) is an important trans-boundary river in South Asia, and its water resources are especially important to its four riparian countries, three of which are the most populous in the world. The future of Asia’s shared waters may thus be a contentious one. This piece examines the water issues in the BR and among the riparian countries, especially on conflict or co-operation between China, India, and Bangladesh, in order to gain a more detailed understanding of Sino-India-Bangladesh water cooperation in terms of the BR.
Related Publications
-
India and the Persian Gulf: Bilateralism, Regional Security and the China Factor
Abstract: This issue brief discusses how regional security in the Persian Gulf is vital for the international oil and gas market, and maritime security in the western Indian Ocean. For […]
-
Europe’s Involvement in the Indo-Pacific Region: Determined on Paper, Timid in Reality
Introduction France adopted its Indo-Pacific strategy in 2018, Germany in 2020 and the EU in 2021. None of this comes a minute too soon as geo-political and geoeconomic competition in […]
-
China’s BRI Diplomacy: What it Means to India and India’s Rise
Introduction: In the post-COVID-19 world order, particularly, amidst intensifying great power competition and changing regional and global power dynamics, infrastructural advancement has taken on new and expanded significance. However, the […]
-
Shifting China-NATO Relations: From Selective Cooperation to Strategic Rivalry?
Introduction: On March 15, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg called on China to withdraw its support for Russia and to condemn its “brutal” invasion of Ukraine […]
-
In Search of an EU-India-Japan Trilateral
Introduction: Even before the war in Ukraine, the European Union had been gearing toward an “increasingly competitive strategic environment” by developing its geo-political autonomy to meet Europe’s security responsibility and reduce strategic […]
-
Quad: Divided over Ukraine, United in the Indo-Pacific?
Introduction: The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) met on March 4, 2022, to lay to rest speculation that the group was in serious trouble over differences of opinion on the Ukraine […]