India flagged its concern about China’s plan to build a mega-dam on the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra river and the creation of two counties in an illegally occupied section of Ladakh, with the external affairs ministry saying these matters have been formally taken up with Beijing.
Last week China announced that it is building the world’s largest dam in Tibet – even larger than the Three Gorges Dam, which according to NASA, has slowed the Earth’s rotation by 0.06 seconds. But unlike that one, which is built in central China, the new one will be built in an environmentally-sensitive Himalayan zone in Tibet, very close to the border with India.
“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”, said Randhir Jaiswal, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson.
For now, the Ministry of External Affairs said, New Delhi will continue to closely monitor the latest developments, adding that necessary and appropriate action will be taken when required.
The strong reaction from New Delhi came a little more than two months after the two countries reached an understanding in October on disengagement of front line forces at the two remaining “friction points” Demchok and Depsang on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This was followed by a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, at which the two sides decided to revive several mechanisms to normalise bilateral relations.
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