China Could Use It As “Water Bomb”: Arunachal Chief Minister On Dam Project

After Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu has raised concern about China’s plan to construct the largest hydropower dam in eastern Tibet, warning that it could be used by Beijing as a “water bomb”.

Speaking at the inaugural function of a seminar titled ‘Environment and Security’ in the state Legislative Assembly complex on Friday, Mr Khandu drew the attention of all stakeholders towards the Chinese plan to construct the hydropower project – which can generate 60,000 MW of power – on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which enters Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang river and becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam before flowing into Bangladesh.

Speaking to reporters later, the chief minister said in Hindi, “60,000 MW… this is out of context. If such a big mega project is constructed there, it will have a big impact on the ecology of areas around the Siang and the Brahmaputra. This is a big threat and, if China uses this as a water bomb, the Adi tribe that we have in the Siang belt will disappear and lakhs of people will lose their lives in Assam… it will go till Bangladesh.”

Mr Khandu said that, keeping China’s activities in mind, the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project – which will involve the construction of dams to generate 11,000 MW of hydroelectric power project – as a national project.

“I am talking to stakeholders about this so that we can maintain our water security and defend against China’s dam being used as a water bomb. We can’t trust China. We promote peace and non-violence and want good relations but, given the history, can we rely on China? That is a big question mark. Look at their expansionist theory, their overexploitation of natural resources in Tibet and their recent declaration of ‘counties’ including parts of Ladakh. So we can’t rely on China,” he said.

The chief minister said the Ministry of External Affairs is discussing the dam issue with China through diplomatic channels but insisted that it is important to “be prepared”.

Impact