ABSTRACT
The management of shared river water has for some time turned into one of the hottest and most intricate issues in China–India relations. Even serious, academic publications have opined that while it is not likely that China and India will fight over water, such a possibility cannot be completely ruled out either. Meanwhile, Sino-Indian diplomatic initiatives over shared water resources have long reached an impasse. Against this troubling background, this chapter seeks to elaborate on a fresh way forward. Specifically, it is suggested that one promising, albeit highly demanding, approach toward deeper levels of water-related cooperation between the two sides is the launch of a “cooperation spiral.” The idea behind such a spiral is to build trust and confidence over time through the use of a number of gradual, reciprocal, and compromising concrete cooperation measures leading the way toward a comprehensive, fair, and legally binding Sino-Indian water treaty.
