LETTERS – MARCH 2025
Remaining on the wrong side
Solid good sense and a compassionate outlook are the hallmarks of Tanya Vatsa’s journalism, as she calls for a ‘a more balanced approach’, indeed a ‘recalibration’ in the United States’ dealings with Israel, even as she acknowledges Washington’s need to fulfil certain commitments to its ally. (‘On the wrong side of history’). Sadly, this is looking ever less likely as the new incumbent in the White House looks sets to put far too much of the personal into the political, and push peace ever further away.
DL Marchant
New York, NY
Damned if they don’t
Sir
I appreciated the inclusion of two excellent articles on the proposed Chinese hydropower damon the Yarlung Tsangpo river, and the disturbing effects it will have on the environment, water security and regional demographics, not to speak ofthe already tense relationship between China and India (‘Fate accompli?’ by Yvonne Gill, and ‘A fragile peace’ by Amit Agnihotri, February issue).
No doubt desire to build this dam (as with others) has been fuelled, in part,by the CCP’s continued drive towards reducing carbon emissions, which is not in itself a bad goal. But, as your writers point out, it will come at a heavy price, and with a heavy irony – the degradation of the very systems and environment that use of green energy such as hydropower isdesigned to reverse.
Another theoretical plus isthe expected economic benefits the project will bring to the local areas – eg stimulating industries such as construction andengineering, and the creation of jobs. But, as so often with Chinese projects in Tibet, the benefits are unlikely to be shared out fairly among the Tibetans, especially given the downside of the certain displacement of populations. (It is said that the Three Gorges hydropower dam, mentioned in the articles, required the resettlement of 1.4 million people.)
Aside from the frightening environmental concerns, surrounding countries have other fears, as control over so much water would allow China to have a stranglehold over regional economies such as those of India and Bangladesh. To counter all this, Gill, in particular, highlights the need to ‘adopt sustainable practices and promote regional cooperation’, and this is where an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) to address water-sharing issues is important. However, the effectiveness of any ELM is dependent on good, wider political relations between, say, India and China, which is the real sticking point.
These are huge issues that must go beyond national borders, and which can only be resolved if China and its neighbours have the political will to engage in meaningful dialogue. If they do not, who knows where this may lead.
AbhikGhosh
Kolkata
Fluctuating values
Your February Editorial understood perfectly the changing world order that is evolving under Donald Trump, and how his transactional nature may appeal to a developing world more attuned to his thinking and practices. While the shift away from a ‘preaching of [Western] values’ could have positive aspects, both the developed and developing worlds must be vigilant that a new and constantly changeable world order is not created in Trump’s image.
Nadia Amin
Camden, London
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