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Time of India
an hour ago
- Business
- Time of India
Why China 'turning off tap' may be another Pakistan bluff
GUWAHATI/NEW DELHI: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Monday demolished latest Pakistani scaremongering after India decisively stepped away from Indus Waters Treaty - what if China cuts off Brahmaputra's water supply to India? He called it a myth & cited hard data to prove the river slicing through Assam is a rain-fed watercourse that grows in India, not shrinks. "Let's dismantle this myth - not with fear, but with facts and national clarity," Sarma posted on X, adding: "Brahmaputra is not a river India depends on upstream - it is a rain-fed Indian river system, strengthened after entering Indian territory." According to Sarma, China's contribution to the river's flow is minimal, only 30-35%, mostly from glacial melt and limited Tibetan rainfall. The rest 65-70% is generated inside India by torrential monsoon rainfall across Arunachal, Assam, Nagaland, and Meghalaya. Sarma further listed major Indian tributaries feeding Brahmaputra - Subansiri, Lohit, Kameng, Manas, Dhansiri, Jia-Bharali, and Kopili, along with inflows from Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia Hills via rivers like Krishnai, Digaru, and Kulsi. If China ever does "turn off the tap", Sarma said it might actually reduce flood devastation in Assam, which displaces lakhs annually. At Tuting on India-China border in Arunachal's Upper Siang district, Brahmaputra's flow is 2,000-3,000 cubic metre per second - but swells to 15,000-20,000 cubic metre per second in Assam during monsoon. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Backed by water governance experts, Sarma's post drew strong support from Nilanjan Ghosh, vice-president of Development Studies and senior director at Observer Research Foundation in Kolkata. Ghosh said China's upstream interventions will have "negligible or almost no effect" on Brahmaputra's overall flow. Brahmaputra originates at Angsi Glacier in Tibet, flows 1,625km as Yarlung Tsangpo before entering India where it runs 918km - as Siang, Dihang, then Brahmaputra - and finishes its 2,880km journey with a 337km stretch in Bangladesh, before meeting Ganga. Though China has announced plans to build a massive hydropower dam on Yarlung Tsangpo, Indian experts said Brahmaputra's scale and Indian monsoon strength make fears of water cuts largely unfounded. IDSA senior fellow Uttam Sinha, citing peer-reviewed data, said even during lean periods Yarlung Tsangpo's annual outflow from China is far lower than Brahmaputra's total discharge in India.
United News of India
22-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
FS Misri in Japan, meets top officials; both sides reaffirm determination to fight terrorism
New Delhi, May 22 (UNI) Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri today visited Japan during which he met with his Japanese counterpart Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi, the National Security Advisor Masataka Okano, besides other top officials. The two sides reiterated the shared determination to fight terrorism. During his meeting with his counterpart Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi, the two sides reviewed the salient issues in the multi-dimensional bilateral ties between India and Japan, including political relations, defence and security, economic cooperation and people to people exchanges. They also exchanged views on issues of topical importance, a statement said. Foreign Secretary also met with National Security Advisor of Japan, Masataka Okano, and with Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Hiroyuki Namazu to discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest. During the visit, Foreign Secretary delivered the spotlight address at the 2nd edition of the Raisina Tokyo Dialogue, organised by the Observer Research Foundation, ORF America, Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives). Foreign Secretary's visit was in continuation of the regular high-level contacts between the two sides in an effort to further deepen the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. He appreciated the support to and solidarity with India demonstrated by the government and the people of Japan following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Foreign Secretary's visit and his meetings today provided yet another opportunity to reflect on and reaffirm the two countries' shared determination to fight terrorism in all forms and manifestations as well as the support infrastructure behind acts of terror. The FS' visit to Tokyo comes as an all-party delegation is in Japan as part of India's global outreach against terrorism. UNI RN
India Gazette
22-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Foreign Secretary Misri meets senior Japan officials, visit reaffirms two countries' shared determination to fight terrorism
Tokyo [Japan], May 22 (ANI): Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met senior Japan officials on Thursday with the two sides reviewing the salient issues in the multi-dimensional bilateral ties including defence and security and economic cooperation. Misri met his counterpart Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi and exchanged views on issues of topical importance. 'The two sides reviewed the salient issues in the multi-dimensional bilateral ties between India and Japan, including political relations, defence and security, economic cooperation and people to people exchanges,' a Ministry of External Affairs release said. Foreign Secretary also met National Security Advisor of Japan Masataka Okano, and Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Hiroyuki Namazu to discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest. Misri appreciated the support to and solidarity with India demonstrated by the government and the people of Japan following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Foreign Secretary's visit and his meetings today provided yet another opportunity to reflect on and reaffirm the two countries' shared determination to fight terrorism in all forms and manifestations as well as the support infrastructure behind acts of terror, the release said. During the visit, the Foreign Secretary delivered the spotlight address at the 2nd edition of the Raisina Tokyo Dialogue, organized by the Observer Research Foundation, ORF America, Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives). The release said that Foreign Secretary's visit was in continuation of the regular high-level contacts between the two sides in effort to further deepen the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. (ANI)
Express Tribune
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
India, US at odds on truce: analysts
Listen to article US President Donald Trump's claim to have helped end fighting between arch-rivals India and Pakistan has driven a wedge between him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, analysts say. A week since Trump announced a surprise truce between India and Pakistan to end a brief but intense conflict, New Delhi and Washington differ about the way it was achieved. The US administration thought "an intervention at this stage might give them some basic benefit in terms of highlighting Trump's role", Indian foreign policy expert Harsh V Pant told AFP. "That... became the driver and in a sense the hurry which with Trump announced the ceasefire," said Pant from the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) think tank. Fighting began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called "terrorist camps" in Pakistan following an April attack in IIOJK that killed 26 people. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the militants it claimed were behind the attack, which Pakistan denies. Trump announced the truce after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks from both sides, killing about 70 people, including dozens of civilians, and sent thousands fleeing. He later boasted about bringing India and Pakistan "back from the brink", telling Fox News on Friday it was "a bigger success than I'll ever be given credit for". New Delhi however shrugs off these claims, which go against decades-long Indian policy that opposes foreign mediation in conflicts with Islamabad. Modi's first speech since the ceasefire did not mention US involvement and his government has since insisted that talks with Pakistan are "strictly bilateral". India was also quick to dismiss Trump's suggestion that trade pressures hastened a truce. "The issue of trade did not come up" in discussions with US officials, the Indian foreign ministry said this week.
Asharq Al-Awsat
17-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
India and US at Odds on Kashmir Truce
A week since Trump announced a surprise truce between India and Pakistan to end a brief but intense conflict, New Delhi and Washington differ about the way it was achieved. The US administration thought "an intervention at this stage might give them some basic benefit in terms of highlighting Trump's role," Indian foreign policy expert Harsh V. Pant told AFP. "That... became the driver and in a sense the hurry which with Trump announced the ceasefire," said Pant from the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) think tank. Fighting began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called "terrorist camps" in Pakistan following an April militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the militants it claimed were behind the attack, which Pakistan denies. Trump announced the truce after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks from both sides, killing about 70 people, including dozens of civilians, and sent thousands fleeing. He later boasted about bringing India and Pakistan "back from the brink", telling Fox News on Friday it was "a bigger success than I'll ever be given credit for". New Delhi however shrugs off these claims, which go against decades-long Indian policy that opposes foreign mediation in conflicts with Islamabad. India and Pakistan claim the currently divided Kashmir in full. New Delhi considers the Himalayan region an internal matter, with politicians long viewing external mediation as a sign of weakness. Modi's first speech since the ceasefire did not mention US involvement and his government has since insisted that talks with Pakistan are "strictly bilateral". India was also quick to dismiss Trump's suggestion that trade pressures hastened a truce. "The issue of trade did not come up" in discussions with US officials, the Indian foreign ministry said this week. According to ORF fellow Manoj Joshi, Trump's rhetoric is "irritating" for India -- whose strategic location and massive market size have made the country an important ally for the United States. But India is being "very cautious" because it is in negotiations for a trade deal with Washington to avoid steep tarriffs, he said. "We (India) would like the agenda to go in a different direction," said Joshi. It is also a thorny matter domestically. Main opposition Congress party said Trump's announcement had "upstaged" the Hindu nationalist leader's "much-delayed address". It also demanded an all-party meeting to ask whether India is changing its policy on "third-party mediation" for Kashmir, disputed between Pakistan and India. The two South Asian rivals had in the 1970s agreed to settle "differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations". Modi has previously poked fun at former Congress governments for "weak" responses against Pakistan in various skirmishes. "So India would obviously respond to that and deny that... about as politely as they feel they can get away with," said South Asia researcher Pramit Pal Chaudhuri of political consultancy Eurasia Group. Trump's claimed mediation was welcomed by Islamabad, which "needed an American intervention to give them the off-ramp they needed to get out of a conflict", Chaudhuri added. On Thursday, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reaffirmed that "where Pakistan is concerned, our relations, our dealings with them will be bilateral, and strictly bilateral." But the same day, speaking from Qatar, Trump repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire and using trade as a tool. "(I said) let's do trade instead of war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that," Trump said in his speech. It has been a decade since Modi last met a Pakistani leader. Since then, relations have deteriorated, coming to a head when India unilaterally revoked Kashmir's limited autonomy in 2019. According to Joshi, "the hyphenation of India and Pakistan" is also "irritating" for New Delhi, which has tried to carve out a separate identity on the global stage. "The optics of Trump hammering it day after day... is politically damaging for Modi," Sushant Singh, a former Indian soldier and South Asian studies lecturer at Yale University, wrote on X. "(Modi) can't personally counter Trump, and despite attempts by India's big media to play it down, social media amplifies Trump," Singh said.
