The modern day China, in future, can scale up water war through its control of the Tibetan water.
SANTOSH CHAUBEY, CNN-NEWS18. MARCH 03, 2021.
Historically, when China used to colonise Tibet, the main intention of Chinese rulers was to create a buffer state for security.
The onslaught by the Communist Party of China in the 20th century saw the forceful occupation of Tibet as an expansionist tool. By forcefully occupying Tibet, China could establish direct territorial links with India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan with an aim to make territorial claims in future. China since the days of its founder Mao Zedong sees Nepal, Bhutan and Indian provinces of Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh as five fingers of Tibet and therefore, a Chinese territory.
Chinese expansionist designs don’t recognise the Indian step to make Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir an integral part of India. China doesn’t accept the status-quo on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as agreed by India and China.
The modern day China, in future, can scale up water war through its control of the Tibetan water
WEAPONISE TIBETAN WATER
China can use the ‘water tower of Asia’, as Tibet is known as, to bargain or threaten many Asian nations. Ten major Asian rivers including Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, Irrawady, Salween, Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong originate in Tibet and they flow through countries like China, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos. These rivers are the lifeline of around two billion people in South and Southeast Asia.
Through the forceful occupation of Tibet, China, having the upper riparian control, can refuse to share the state and dynamics of water flow (hydrological data), can obstruct, or divert water flow in case of a conflict as it did with India in recent past.
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