The Author is Former Director General of Information Systems and A Special Forces Veteran, Indian Army

On December 25, 2024, China approved the construction of the world's largest electrical power complex – the Great Bend' hydroelectric project, close to the border with India. This is further evidence of China's aim to control the waters of the Tibetan Plateau, which supply more than two billion people. The dam is to be built on the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo River adjacent to India's Arunachal Pradesh. The river is called the Brahmaputra River as it crosses the border into India. It is a major source of water for the people of India and Bangladesh.

The proposed dam would be situated where the river takes a sharp bend and plunges about 6,500 feet. The project will include drilling four to six 19.2 km long mountain tunnels; diverting half the river's flow at more than 70,000 cubic feet per second through the tunnels. This 60,000 MW project will produce electricity three times the capacity of the world's current largest hydroelectric facility; China's Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.

With the construction of the world's largest electrical power complex, China's aim to control the waters of the Tibetan Plateau, which supply more than two billion people

China's $37 billion Three Gorges Dam, according to NASA, has slowed the Earth's rotation by 0.06 seconds, making each day slightly longer. Each year, an average of 500 billion cubic meters of water passes through the river. The dam is powered by 32 generators (each weighing 6,000 tonnes) with each of the 32 main turbines generating 700 MW. The dam generates enough electricity to power 60 million people. However, the dam has caused significant social and environmental upheaval; over one million people were displaced from their homes and the project resulted in the flooding of 13 cities, 140 towns and 1,350 villages.

It needs no intelligence to decipher that the Great Bend' hydroelectric project would entail massive destruction in a seismically fragile mountain landscape, never been attempted earlier, which would seriously endanger local infrastructure, along with downstream river valleys and their inhabitants. Brahmaputra River is a major source for the people of India and Bangladesh. It would harm the environment in South Asia and hinder Chinese human development. Already there are voices of dissent in China but the communist regime has never bothered about protests.

China has said that the Great Bend hydroelectric project will not affect the countries and population downstream, which is a lame and stupid excuse. The project would allow China to control the timing and quantity of water flows to South Asia, with enormous consequences to the region's agriculture and freshwater supplies. China's control of dams on other waterways, such as the Mekong River, has already had dire consequences for Southeast Asia, damaging agricultural cycles in this densely populated region.

China is looking to reduce its use of coal and generate cleaner power for China's growing electricity needs, including transportation, artificial intelligence, robotics and communications through this new project. But this would be an enormous cost to ecology and water resources, also giving China too much control over the waters and livelihoods of people in India and Bangladesh. Weaponising water would also enable flooding or reducing water flow at China's will.

China's proposed dam has wider implications for India's national security and the ecology of the states in India and Bangladesh, affecting millions. It could lead to flash floods or water scarcity downstream and give China leverage in a state of armed conflict

China's proposed dam has wider implications for India's national security and the ecology of the states in India and Bangladesh, affecting millions. It could lead to flash floods or water scarcity downstream and give China leverage in a state of armed conflict. Chowna Mein, Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, told media that the proposed 12,500 MW Siang Upper Multi-purpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh would "counter" the Chinese mega project. SUMP is a proposed dam on the Siang River in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal. SUMP is facing resistance from locals in the area in Arunachal Pradesh. More than 350 individuals, civil society and environmental groups across the country have urged President Droupadi Murmu to police forces from Arunachal Pradesh, alleging they are "forcefully" allowing surveys for the project. At the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum (SIFF), hundreds of villagers in the area have also been protesting.

In what timeframe China's Great Bend' hydroelectric project and SUMP in Arunachal Pradesh will come up and how much SUMP can mitigate the ill effects of the Chinese project reman ambiguous. But one thing is certain – China will go ahead with the project no matter what; irrespective of Indian protests to "protect its interests" and reminding Beijing of its rights to the waters of the river while also seeking transparency over Beijing's plans. China is on a high and couldn't care what India or the world thinks. China claims that the Three Gorges Dam is bomb proof but if it is targeted in a US-China war, the aftermath may lead Beijing to a different line of thinking on an even bigger project.

China is going full throttle in its pursuit of advanced technologies. It has just unveiled a nuclear battery which China claims has a life of 50 years. Also, China plans to build 'Three Gorges Dam of Space' for endless solar power.

China is going full throttle in its pursuit of advanced technologies. It has just unveiled a nuclear battery which China claims has a life of 50 years. The latest, as per news reports of January 10, 2025, is that China plans to build 'Three Gorges Dam of Space' for endless solar power. Long Lehao, a rocket scientist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), has said, "We are working on this project now. It is as significant as moving the Three Gorges Dam to a geostationary orbit 36,000 km (22,370 miles) above the Earth. This is an incredible project to look forward to."

Space-based solar power stations collect energy from the sun in Earth's orbit and transmit it to the ground, providing continuous power; collecting energy without being affected by seasons or day-night cycles, with much higher energy density about 10 times higher in space than the average on the Earth's surface. This is what China plans to optimise.