Latest news with #Pakistan-China
India.com
12 hours ago
- Business
- India.com
What If China Stops Brahmaputra Water To India?: After Chickens Neck, Assam CM Sarma Counters Pakistan-China Threat
What If China Stops Brahmaputra? When it comes to blunt replies, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma leaves many politicians behind. He is known for expressing his views very clearly, without considering any ramification. When Bangladesh raised the Chicken's Neck - Siliguri corridor issue, Sarma hit back by sharing a map of two chicken necks that Dhaka should be worrying about. Now, Sarma has reacted to Pakistan-China's joint threat related to the Brahmaputra river. Notably, India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty following the Pakistan-backed Pahalgam terror attack. Since then, Pakistanis have been raising the Brahmaputra river issue. Reacting to Pakistan's claim, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma took to social media to counter myths with facts. "What If China Stops Brahmaputra Water to India? A Response to Pakistan's New Scare Narrative. After India decisively moved away from the outdated Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan is now spinning another manufactured threat: What if China stops the Brahmaputra's water to India?' said Sarma highlighting the question. He further said, "Let's dismantle this myth — not with fear, but with facts and national clarity. Brahmaputra: A River That Grows in India — Not Shrinks. China contributes only ~30–35% of the Brahmaputra's total flow — mostly through glacial melt and limited Tibetan rainfall." Sarma said that the remaining 65–70% of Brahmaputra water is generated within India, thanks to torrential monsoon rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, and Meghalaya; major tributaries like Subansiri, Lohit, Kameng, Manas, Dhansiri, Jia-Bharali, Kopili and additional inflows from the Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia Hills via rivers such as Krishnai, Digaru, and Kulsi. "At the Indo-China border (Tuting): Flow is ~2,000–3,000 m³/s. In Assam plains (e.g., Guwahati): Flow swells to 15,000–20,000 m³/s during monsoon. The Brahmaputra is not a river India depends on upstream — it is a rain-fed Indian river system, strengthened after entering Indian territory," said the Assam CM. Responding to Pakistan, Sarma said, "Even if China were to reduce water flow (unlikely as China has never threatened or indicated in any official forum), it may actually help India mitigate the annual floods in Assam, which displace lakhs and destroy livelihoods every year. Meanwhile, Pakistan — which has exploited 74 years of preferential water access under the Indus Waters Treaty — now panics as India rightfully reclaims its sovereign rights." Sarma said that Pakistan must not forget that Brahmaputra is not controlled by a single source and is powered by the country's geography, monsoon, and civilisational resilience. Chairman of the Brahmaputra Board, Dr Ranbir Singh, pointed out that the Brahmaputra Basin is the only water-surplus river basin in India, with the rest being water-deficient. "With this dam in China, are we looking at a water-deficient Brahmaputra river basin?" he wondered.
Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Why India needs actionable intel, long-range missiles amid China & Pakistan threat after Op Sindoor
In this episode of Hindustan Times Point Blank, Executive Editor Shishir Gupta explores India's ongoing Operation Sindoor. Gupta emphasises India's need to bolster intelligence to avoid terror attacks like Pahalgam massacre. Notably, Ukraine's recent drone operation against Russia and Hamas' Oct 7 terror attack proves having prior intelligence is the key to avoiding such incidents. Pakistan-China strategic nexus is also exposed in the wake of an armed standoff between India and Pakistan, where the world witnessed India's capability to strike targets without crossing international borders or LoC. The need for India to possess a diverse range of long-range missiles to counter future threats was also emphasised.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
India's First PM being targeted to skirt core issues: Congress
Congress on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his veiled dig at former PM Jawaharlal Nehru by recalling how then home minister Sardar Patel was against stopping the war in 1947 against Pakistan before seizing PoK but was overruled. The AICC avoided getting into any debate on the specifics of the strategic differences within the then Congress government and alleged that Modi was targeting the first PM to skirt many core issues involved in the recent India-Pakistan conflict, including US President Trump's remarks and the growing Pakistan-China nexus against India. Lamenting that the PM was active in "Nehru-bashing" even on the first PM's death anniversary on Tuesday, AICC spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said, "This is a pathetic attempt at diverting attention from very many serious issues that confront us today, which he must answer." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Sàn cao su chất lượng sắp được tặng ở Đường 18 Gạch | Quảng cáo tìm kiếm Tìm Ngay Congress leader asked why the terrorists responsible for the brutal Pahalgam terror attack were still scot-free, and "why is the PM silent on the US President's statements - 8 in 11 days - on the ceasefire between India and Pakistan that forced Operation Sindoor to stop?" Ramesh also alleged the PM was silent on the "deep military nexus between China and Pakistan, that has now become more apparent than ever before" and asked why Modi was quiet "on the growing hyphenation of India with Pakistan" and "the failure of our diplomacy" to isolate Pakistan. Live Events
News18
24-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
News18 Morning Digest: Tharoor's Big Statement On Terrorism, Rahul's Jammu Visit And Other Top Stories
Last Updated: News18 Morning Digest: We are covering Tharoor's statement on terrorism, Jyoti Malhotra case, rising Covid cases, apparent strains In Pak-China relation and other top stories. News18 Morning Digest: We are covering Shashi Tharoor's big statement on terrorism, Jyoti Malhotra spying case, rising Covid cases, apparent strains In Pakistan-China relation and other top stories. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, before leaving for five countries to project India's national consensus on combating terrorism, on Friday said that India will not be silenced by terrorism. He also called the tour 'a mission of peace and hope". Read more YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan, was grilled over her visit to the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain and to Puri in Odisha. According to a team of the Madhya Pradesh Police, it was found that Jyoti visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, but nothing incriminating came out during the questioning. Read more The long-standing 'Iron Brotherhood" between China and Pakistan, once considered unbreakable, appears to be showing signs of strain. India's robust response to Pahalgam terrorist attack has put the spotlight on Beijing's stance. While observers keenly watched for an unequivocal show of support for Islamabad, China's response has been marked by diplomatic caution and a notable absence of direct condemnation against India. Read more The monsoon arrived in Kerala on Saturday, making it the earliest onset in the state in 16 years, according to the India Meteorological Department. The monsoon normally arrives in Kerala on June 1, but the last time it arrived this early—on May 23—was in 2009 and 2001. The earliest recorded onset was on May 11, 1918. Read more First Published: May 24, 2025, 13:00 IST
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pakistan recommits to China bond amid Trump shadow over India ceasefire
Islamabad, Pakistan – As Pakistan sought to defend itself against Indian missiles and drones launched at its military bases and cities in early May, it relied on an unlikely combination of assets: Chinese missiles and air defence; Chinese and United States fighter jets; and US diplomacy. The missiles, air defence and jets helped Pakistan thwart any devastating hits on its airbases and claim it had brought down multiple Indian fighter planes – an assertion that India has neither confirmed nor denied. The diplomacy sealed a ceasefire that Pakistan has publicly welcomed and thanked the Donald Trump administration for. Yet, as the US has in recent years increasingly picked India over Pakistan as its principal South Asian partner, Pakistan this week worked to reassure China that Beijing remained its most coveted ally. Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also serves as foreign minister, visited Beijing earlier this week, meeting his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on May 20 in the first high-profile overseas visit by a Pakistani leader since the ceasefire. According to a statement from the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two sides discussed the fallout of the brief but intense conflict with India, the ceasefire, and Islamabad's criticism of New Delhi's actions. During the meeting with Wang, Dar highlighted India's 'unilateral and illegal decision' to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a six-decade water-sharing agreement. India halted the accord following the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which left 26 people dead. Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan-based armed groups, an allegation Islamabad denies. Wang, meanwhile, welcomed the ceasefire, describing it as serving the 'fundamental and long-term interests of both sides [India and Pakistan]' while promoting regional peace. Getting Wang on board was critical for Pakistan, say analysts. With South Asia sitting on a tinderbox during the recent Pakistan-India standoff, a larger geopolitical contest loomed in the background. Pakistan, once a key US ally, has shifted decisively into China's orbit, relying on its northwestern neighbour heavily for economic and military support. Meanwhile, India, long known for its non-alignment policy, has leaned closer to the US in recent years as part of a strategy to counter China's rising influence. Shahid Ali, an assistant professor of international relations at Lahore College for Women University, who specialises in Pakistan-China relations, said the timing and optics of Dar's visit were significant. 'While Pakistan hoped to get China's full diplomatic support for its conflict with India, especially regarding the suspension of the IWT, the visit also provided Dar a good opportunity to apprise China about US-led ceasefire dynamics, also reassuring them of Pakistan's longstanding all-weather strategic partnership,' Ali told Al Jazeera. Erum Ashraf, a UK-based scholar focused on Pakistan-China ties and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a $62bn mega project launched a decade ago – echoed this view. She said the meeting allowed China to better understand what promises Pakistan may have made to the US and President Trump, who helped mediate the ceasefire. 'The Chinese must be concerned how Pakistan managed to gain President Trump's support to talk of ceasefire and to even offer to resolve the matter of Kashmir between both countries. The Chinese worry how US influence in their back yard could impact their interest in the region,' she told Al Jazeera. Pakistan's former ambassador to China, Masood Khalid, called Beijing a 'logical' first stop for Islamabad's efforts to use diplomacy to push its narrative about the crisis with India in the aftermath of the ceasefire. He noted that beyond the recent India-Pakistan military confrontation, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor remained a key pillar of bilateral cooperation. 'The foreign minister may apprise the Chinese side of the security steps which Pakistan has taken for Chinese nationals' protection,' Khalid told Al Jazeera. Indeed, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang prodded both countries to work together to create an 'upgraded version of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.' CPEC, launched in 2015 under then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the elder brother of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has been hailed as a 'game-changer' for Pakistan. It is a key component of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a huge network of roads, bridges and ports spread across nearly 100 countries that Beijing hopes will recreate the ancient Silk Road trade routes linking Europe and Asia. However, CPEC has faced repeated delays, especially in Balochistan, where its crown jewel, the Gwadar Port, is located. Separatist groups in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but poorest province, have long waged an armed rebellion against the state and have repeatedly hit Chinese personnel and installations, accusing them of benefitting from the province's vast natural resources. According to Pakistani government figures, nearly 20,000 Chinese nationals live in the country. At least 20 have been killed since 2021 in various attacks in different parts of Pakistan. While Pakistan's Foreign Ministry did not mention it explicitly, the Chinese statement quoted Dar as saying his country would make every effort to 'ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan'. Muhammad Faisal, a South Asia security researcher at the University of Technology Sydney, said the safety of Chinese nationals remains Beijing's 'topmost concern'. 'Even as the crisis with India heightened, the presence of a large number of Chinese nationals in Pakistan, in some ways, compelled Beijing to seek swift crisis de-escalation,' he told Al Jazeera. Between April 22, when the Pahalgam attack occurred, and May 7, when India struck targets inside Pakistani territory, a global diplomatic effort was quietly under way to de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations. During this period, the US initially showed little interest in direct involvement while China, initially, also was slow to get involved. China, which has a historically tense relationship with Delhi that suffered further after their troops clashed in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh in 2020, eventually urged restraint from both sides. However, many observers felt China's position was seen as lacking neutrality due to its closeness with Pakistan. Faisal said China is likely to maintain its current 'high-wire act', acknowledging Pakistan's security concerns while continuing to call for calm on both sides. He added that while the US was the lead mediator for the ceasefire, Beijing double-tapped Washington by calling both Islamabad and New Delhi to dial down tensions. 'A lesson Beijing learned is that its current restrained public posturing opened up diplomatic space to engage with interlocutors in both Islamabad and New Delhi, despite the fact that the latter views its role with scepticism,' he said. Ashraf, the UK-based academic, said India did not view China as a 'neutral umpire' in its disputes with Pakistan – even though New Delhi and Beijing have in recent months tried to reset their ties, pulling troops back from contested border points and ramping up diplomatic efforts to calm tensions. 'India and China have only recently achieved a breakthrough in their strained border relations, which perhaps helps to explain China's initial 'hands off' behaviour with Pakistan after Pahalgam,' she said. But ultimately, she said, China needs to 'balance a tightrope': It doesn't want to 'upset relations with India', but it also needs to help Pakistan enough that it doesn't 'collapse in the face of India's attacks'. That's a balance China managed to strike successfully in early May. With Dar's visit to Beijing, say analysts, Pakistan – which also benefitted from US diplomatic intervention – tried to repay the favour.
