China’s Water Hegemony With Its Neighbors

China’s dams over major rivers like the Brahmaputra that flow into India and Bangladesh and the Mekong that flows into South East Asia have raised concerns in these downstream riparian countries over the potential of dams to trigger flash floods or create water scarcity, giving China strategic leverage.

The dams also pose a severe security risk for China’s neighbors as they give it a tool to manipulate the water flow of these rivers.