Assignment 16 - Adkins

 Desecuritization of Water in Asia

Arora, Neha, and Devjyot Ghoshal. “India Plans Dam on Brahmaputra to Offset Chinese Construction Upstream.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 1 Dec. 2020, www.reuters.com/article/india-china-hydropower/india-plans-dam-on-brahmaputra-to-offset-chinese-construction-upstream-idUSKBN28B4RB.

This source published by Reuters, details India’s plans to build a dam on the Brahmaputra River. The Brahmaputra River originates in the Tibetan Plateau, an area controlled by China, in recent years China has begun building a series of dams along their transboundary rivers, one of which being the Bramaputra. India worries that with China’s dams China could trigger flash floods or create water scarcities in the eastern regions of India. To mitigate this India plans on building a dam to allow them to control the amount of water flowing downstream. This source is somewhat credible because the authors have written many articles for Reuters about the political climate in India. However, they are journalists so there is some credibility lost there.

Biba, Sebastian. “China’s Continuous Dam-Building on the Mekong River.” Journal of Contemporary Asia, vol. 42, no. 4, Nov. 2012, p. 603. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid,url&custid=s1176192&db=edb&AN=79723302.

This source, published in an academic journal details the political strategies China has employed with the downstream riparian nations of the Mekong. The source describes that issue linkage is the main strategy China has used in order to limit the complaints of the downstream riparian nations. In this strategy China links policies about the dams with trade deals with the downstream riparian nations. These nations, which are extremely reliant on exports from China are somewhat forced into deals that benefit the country short term, but long term give more and more power to China. This coincides with China’s current hydropolitical goals to tighten its grip on its 19 international river basins. In combat to China’s policies four of the five downstream riparian nations have formed the Mekong River Commission but the commission has yet to complete anything substantial. The author of this source is credible because he is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and has written a book China’s Hydro-politics in the Mekong: Conflict and Cooperation in Light of Securitization Theory.

Biba, Sebastian. “Desecuritization in China’s Behavior towards Its Transboundary Rivers: The Mekong River, the Brahmaputra River, and the Irtysh and Ili Rivers.” Journal of Contemporary China, vol. 23, no. 85, Jan. 2014, p. 21. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid,url&custid=s1176192&db=edb&AN=92728504.

This source, published in an academic journal outlines the reliance many asian countries have on freshwater coming from rivers originating in China. The source looks at four different major rivers the Brahmaputra, Mekong, Irtysh, and Ili rivers which originate in the Tibetan Plateau and flow into neighboring countries. The source details that China is currently beginning to face water scarcity issues, and as a result is looking to protect its freshwater resources by building dams along major rivers. The source also mentions that Beijing has said that it doesn’t want to let issues over water escalate. However, they have yet to sign any international river treaties with its neighboring countries. This leaves lots of countries bordering Asia with major water security issues. In the source there is a chart that lists the water dependency ratios of different asian countries on water sources originating in China. The chart outlines that 7 countries are over 30% dependent on water resources originating in China. The author of this source is credible because he is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and has written a book China’s Hydro-politics in the Mekong: Conflict and Cooperation in Light of Securitization Theory.

Eyler, Brian. “Science Shows Chinese Dams Are Devastating the Mekong.” Foreign Policy, 22 Apr. 2020, foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/22/science-shows-chinese-dams-devastating-mekong-river/.

This source published by foreign policy.com looks at the effects Chinese Dams on the Mekong River have had on water flow through Southeast Asia. The source offers many infographics and before and after pictures showing the amount of water flow through certain parts of the Mekong over the years. China controls eleven upstream dams on the Mekong allowing them to control the flow of the river. The source illustrates that since the dams have been built there has been a significant difference in the expected water levels and actual water levels. During the monsoon season when water levels are expected to be at their peak, parts of the Mekong had exposed river beds due to lack of water. The source also includes a heat map of the Mekong River plains and which areas are on average drier than usual and which areas are wetter. On the map there is a clear distinction between the Chinese sections of the Mekong and the rest of it. The Chinese sections are on average having wetter monsoon seasons, which is better for crops, and the rest of the Mekong that flows through southeast Asia is experiencing significantly drier monsoon seasons, the source attributes this to the Chinese dams. This source is somewhat credible because the author Bryan Eyeler is a senior fellow at the Stimson Center and director of Stimson’s Southeast Asia program. He is also the author of Last Days of the Mighty Mekong, so he is well educated on the subject however it is published in foreign policy.com which is trying to provide something entertaining to read.

“Gravitas: How China Is Weaponising Water.” YouTube, WION, 21 July 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFHBgVDP4cE. 

This source is a YouTube video produced by the English, Indian news company, WION. The source analyzes and looks at the ways China is using it’s over 87,000 dams in order to control the flow of water in Asia. The source discusses how dams on the Mekong and Brahmaputra Rivers create large national security threats for the downstream nations as their supply of water is lessened. It also puts China in a major position of power as it now could create droughts and flood the downstream nations at will. This source is somewhat credible because it comes from an international news source however, the news source is based in India which sees China as a threat so the news station may have some bias.