Mismatched Diplomacy: China–India Water Relations Over the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna River Basin

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article sheds light on the nature, forms and outcomes of China’s diplomacy over transboundary water resources. Water diplomacy bears unique and complex features and approaches for forming cooperative partnerships in the contextual settings where it is developed. By surveying the development and effectiveness of water diplomacy, it argues that water diplomacy is unlikely to succeed in conditions where power relations are unstable, or among countries experiencing low economic growth.The Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) River Basin is examined as a case study. It is noticed that distrust has resulted in the development of complicated dynamics in Sino–Indian water disputes. China has displayed vested interests in its water diplomacy. Not only is the Chinese government seeking economic profits such as through the generation of hydropower, it also seeks to protect its strategic interests through the domination of hydrological data and water policy information. Such strategic interests may obstruct foreign relations unless substantial cooperative water sharing initiatives are implemented. As India has displayed varying interests in the diplomatic process, the outcomes are proving limited and risky. In the absence of substantive collaborative initiatives over water management, the mismatched interests over the GBM Basin have the potential to further strain the already unstable relations between two of the major powers in South Asia.