Mismatched Diplomacy

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

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12422985
AutoresLei Xie (0000-0002-4535-7893, Chinese Academy of Sciences, autor de correspondencia), Yanbing Zhang (0000-0003-3756-4830, Tsinghua University), Jagannath P Panda (Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses)
Año2017
Volumen27
Número109
Páginas32-46
Fecha de publicación2017-08-21
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Contemporary China (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1067-0564 • E-ISSN: 1469-9400
EditorialRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10670564.2017.1363014
OpenAlexW2748171548
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7

This 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

Biology · China · Diplomacy · Distrust · Government (linguistics · Hydropower · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Water resources · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Transboundary Water Resource Management · Ecology