ABSTRACT
The lack of a comprehensive framework between China and India for managing their shared water resources is a source of instability in Sino-Indian relations and for the region as a whole. The nature of water, the water problems in both China and India, and climate change, set against the backdrop of historically tense relations between the two countries, increase the potential for conflict. However, the path to greater hydrological cooperation between China and India is fraught with difficulties. The benefits of cooperation to India are clear – as lower riparian, it is in India’s interest to lay down water sharing and water usage principles with China. For China, the incentives are less obvious; from its perspective, there are substantial sovereignty and autonomy risks, and limited political and economic gains, to be derived from cooperating with India.
