China’s alleged exploitation of Tibet’s water resources and its cross-border efforts have drawn opposition from India. In response, New Delhi sees similar tactics, including renaming places in Tibet, as diplomatic retaliation.
The strategic implications of these moves will reflect the wider competition for influence and control in the Himalayan region. Tensions continue as the two countries compete for dominance. A careful balance of diplomatic and strategic maneuvers is required.
As the Narendra Modi government considers its options, the situation underscores the delicate balance of power and the imperative of strategic foresight in navigating complex geopolitical challenges.
In an attempt to woo the Maldives, China has gifted the island nation 3,000 metric tons of water from Tibetan glaciers in two separate gifts in March and May. This move has put China in a strange situation. Coincidentally, on March 20, a week before the first water shipment, China released the country’s water security regulations.
The regulations, which will take effect on May 1, aim to provide legal guarantees for China’s water conservation, progress in environmental progress and high-quality development. Adhering to the vision that “clear waters and fertile mountains are precious assets” . China has taken many measures to protect its water resources and restore harmonious ecosystems.
Beijing, in a social media campaign, has asked residents across Tibet to conserve water. Several social media posts claim that in Sakya County, Tibetans are urging them to conserve water as bottled water companies exploit Tibet’s pristine water resources for profit.
However, Chinese observers claim that Tibet has relatively more water resources than China. Beijing is exploiting these resources, which are highly vulnerable to climate change, biodiversity and rare flora and fauna, and the intangible Buddhist heritage associated with rivers in Tibet.
Most Chinese bottled water companies, such as Nanpu Spring, which is said to be affiliated with members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Tibet, exploit water resources. This is in addition to the existing and proposed river water transfer projects.
While New Delhi has donated drinking water to the Maldives in the past, observers say it has not damaged the fragile ecology of the Himalayas for such purchases for men.
China’s move to channel “glacial water” from Tibet to the Maldives, and its attempt to legitimize Tibet’s name as Beijing’s preferred ‘Jizong’, also serves its ulterior political purpose.
China changed the names of places including Arunachal Pradesh several times. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as its territory, referring to it as ‘Zhangnan’ or Southern Tibet. China has renamed 30 places in Arunachal with Chinese and Tibetan names. New Delhi has consistently rejected China’s bid to change the names of places in Arunachal, insisting that the state is an integral part of India.
A few months before the G20 summit in New Delhi last September, Beijing released a new map asserting territorial claims over Arunachal and Aksai Chin in Ladakh. In the 2023 edition of China’s ‘Standard Map’, uploaded by its Ministry of Natural Resources on its Standard Map Service website, Aksai Chin and Arunachal are among the South and Southeast Asian territories marked within Chinese borders.
In response, the Indian Army has planned similar tactics by changing the names of nearly 30 places in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) backed by extensive historical research.
