Nothing better illustrates the fecklessness of India's China policy than its silence in response to Beijing's July 19 admission that the largest dam ever conceived in human history is being built just miles from the Indian border.
Had the roles been reversed, China would have mounted a relentless diplomatic and propaganda offensive to shame and isolate India for undertaking a project of such colossal scale and potentially ruinous environmental impact on downstream regions.
India's silence is not just meek — it is self-sabotaging. The super-dam will arm China with the capacity to manipulate the flow of a river that sustains vast populations and fertile plains in northeastern India. In the event of conflict or coercive diplomacy, Beijing could weaponize water as a tool of pressure, inflict ecological damage through sudden releases or deprivations, and destabilize livelihoods downstream.
Brahma Chellaney