India’s Ministry of External Affairs expressed concerns to China on Friday (January 3) regarding the construction of a hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, as it could impact the hydrology of some Indian regions downstream.
After flowing out of the Chinese border, the Yarlung Tsangpo River goes south into India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states before eventually entering Bangladesh. In India and Bangladesh, the river is respectively known as the Brahmaputra and Jamuna River.
The spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated, “We have urged the Chinese side to ensure that the interests of downstream countries along the Brahmaputra River are not harmed by activities upstream. We will continue to monitor and take necessary measures to protect our interests.”
Furthermore, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also noted that New Delhi had issued a “strong protest” to Beijing regarding the establishment of two new counties at their border last month, one of which includes a disputed area where India claims sovereignty.
The spokesman added, “The establishment of the new counties will neither affect India’s long-standing and consistent stance on the sovereignty of the region, nor legitimize China’s illegal and forceful occupation of the area.”
China approved the dam construction plan in December last year, with an expected annual electricity generation capacity of 300 billion kilowatt-hours, making it the largest project of its kind globally.
Chinese officials claim that the hydropower project in Tibet will not have significant impacts on the environment or downstream water supply. However, India and Bangladesh have expressed concerns, as both countries fear that the Yarlung Tsangpo River hydropower project could alter the flow and course of downstream rivers and exacerbate water resource tensions in the region.
An Indian geopolitical and strategic expert stated that the site of the mega-dam is located in the seismically active southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, an area situated on the fault zone where the Indian plate collides with the Eurasian plate, making it the “most dangerous place in the world.” The lack of transparency in China’s project, coupled with the unpredictable nature of the dam, has heightened India’s anxieties downstream, fearing the potential catastrophic consequences.
China and India have been embroiled in a border dispute for the past four years, reaching a patrol agreement in the disputed border area only in October last year.
A report by The Washington Post in December last year suggested that the construction of the dam project could reignite border disputes between China and India.
Wang Weiluo, a hydrology expert based in Germany, told Dajiyuan that the hydropower development project downstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo River has been officially included in China’s “14th Five-Year Plan,” making it imperative for China to proceed with the project. Xi Jinping’s visit to Tibet in July 2021 aimed to finalize the Motuo dam project, similar to Deng Xiaoping’s inspection of the Three Gorges Dam site in 1980.
Wang further stated that China currently has an excess of electricity supply, with many photovoltaic stations idle, highlighting the lack of necessity for constructing hydropower stations downstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo River.
He also emphasized that the large-scale hydropower development in the river violates China’s regulations on natural reserves and must be halted immediately.
Human rights organizations have also warned that these dams will fundamentally alter Tibet’s natural landscape, disrupt ecosystems, and displace local residents.
Estimates suggest that the electricity generation capacity of this “super hydropower station” could be three to five times that of the Three Gorges Dam, with a total cost potentially exceeding one trillion Chinese yuan.
(This article references reports by Reuters)