US Congressman Devin Nunes: China's 'Super Dam' Could Cut Off Water to India

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping made an unannounced three-day trip to Nyingchi in Tibet, which is a sensitive area bordering India's Arunachal Pradesh. He met top officials of the Tibet Military Command and reviewed projects in the region.

Republican Congressman Devin Nunes has called Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Tibet a "threat to India." He warned that the super dam being built by China in the country, which Xi Jinping checked out during his trip, could "possibly cut off water to India."

"Just last week you had Xi Jinping, the Chinese dictator, on the border with India, in Tibet, claiming victory. This was the first time in 30 years, I believe, that a Chinese dictator had been to Tibet and also threatening India," Nunes told Fox News – he also lambasted the Joe Biden administration for "not doing enough to stop the Chinese march."

During his trip to Tibet, the Chinese president visited the Nyang River Bridge to inspect the construction of a super dam on the Yarlung Tsangbo river, as it is called in Tibet. The waterway flows into India where it's known as the Brahmaputra. 

Beijing's new Five-Year Plan (2021-25) approved the dam in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river in March – it's the first hydroelectric power project on the stretch of water along the Indian border in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The dam is a major concern in India and Bangladesh's riparian states. 

Voicing his concern, Nunes said, "No matter what you plug into the propaganda machine, you can build all the narratives you want here in Washington DC, but then there is reality. The reality is that the Chinese are on the march and the Biden administration is letting them do whatever they want."

It was Xi Jinping's first visit to Tibet after becoming China's leader in 2013. His trip was only announced after it was over and comes amid a tense year-long military stand-off between Beijing and Delhi – both nations have sent large numbers of troops to the border in the Ladakh region after the sides clashed in a bloody battle in June 2020.

China's state media now acknowledge the military significance of Xi's Tibet trip, which began with a visit to a PLA base near the India border. Xi addressed military officers in Tibet (https://t.co/iK1Shda3Rc) and, reports Global Times, called for strengthening “war preparation.”

— Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) July 24, 2021

​The Chinese president also visited Potala Palace, the traditional home of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who has been in India since his exile in 1959.