AK sees no cause for alarm over China's water wars

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : India, China and water security

Some reports have alleged that Beijing was going back on its commitment to India to not divert the Brahmaputra. The Zangmu site is essentially a hydel power project — a ‘run of the river’ power generation project, which experts say is no cause for alarm as it will have little impact on the course of the river downstream.

However, Indian Express and Economist see the "run of the river" project as a dam and a cause for concern:
Indian Express: China begins building dam on its side of the Brahmaputra

But strong evidence has now emerged to suggest that China has begun constructing a dam on the river

Dammed rivers | Banyan's notebook | Economist.com

FOR years, any suggestion that China intended to dam the Yarlung Tsangpo, known to downstream countries as the Brahmaputra, was met with bald-faced denials. Yet earlier this month Gezhouba, one of China's biggest construction companies, admitted it had built the concrete feedline for a dam on the river at Zangmu in Tibet, south-east of Lhasa near the disputed border with India. Satellite images show work well underway. Zangmu and the sites of four other planned dams are marked on this map.

China wrecked havoc in Himachal and Arunachal through flash floods. Decreased water flow is not the only concern for India.
India Today (dated June 25, 2001) :Made In China

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has concrete evidence that the flash floods which ravaged large tracts in the border states of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh last year were caused by the Chinese.

There is too much at stake for India on what China does upstream. Brahmaputra's rapid descent of 3000m in 200km makes it such a violent river that it already causes devastating floods in North East and Bangladesh. After the proposed hydel power projects along the Yarlung Tsangpo, the downstream flooding problem will be compounded.

In Yunnan, China built four hydel power dams along the Salween, which many experts say resulted in flooding downstream in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

As economist says, we cant go by what the Chinese say.

Yet for all its smile diplomacy and talk of a "harmonious world", China's consultation with riparian states about its dam plans is close to nil.