"Diverting water to exert pressure:" China and the issue of water management in a multipolar world

On the international stage, China has sought to block agreements governing the use of international rivers, maintaining that upstream countries must be free to develop their part of shared waterways. Yet despite building numerous dams upstream of the Mekong, Brahmaputra, and Indus, China lacks even a single transparent and binding water-sharing arrangement with the affected downstream neighbors.

China’s actions on waterways reflect its overarching approach toward foreign policy, and its influence over transboundary waters does not stop in Asia.

Sustainably managing dwindling water supplies will be increasingly difficult to do even without great power competition. But whether through cooperation with China or competition with it, the world will have to meet the challenge, analysts say.