39th Annual Student Research Conference
Implication of Sino-Indian Rivalry in India-Bangladesh Watercourse
Sharing: A Geopolitical Perspective
Tushrat Asha
Dr. Stephanie Russell, Faculty Mentor
This paper examines how Sino-Indian strategic rivalry shapes India’s water diplomacy with Bangladesh, focusing on the Brahmaputra River Basin. As an upper riparian power, China’s hydropower expansion and unilateral river management raise Indian concerns over water security, sovereignty, and regional stability. These concerns influence India’s relations with downstream Bangladesh. Using qualitative analysis grounded in hydropolitics and international water law, this study explores treaties, dam-building, data-sharing, and regional asymmetries among China, India, and Bangladesh. The findings show that Sino-Indian rivalry affects India–Bangladesh cooperation through strategic anxieties, dam competition, and politicized hydrological data. Indirectly, it pushes Bangladesh to diversify diplomacy through multilateral engagement and closer ties with China. The paper argues that Bangladesh’s vulnerability is shaped by both India’s hydro-hegemony and broader geopolitical rivalry, constraining effective regional water governance.
Keywords: Geopolitics , Water, China, India , Bangladesh, Brahmaputra, Teesta, Diplomacy
Topic(s):Political Science
Geography
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 3203-3
Location: SUB 3203
Time: 9:00