India protests China including parts of Ladakh in its new counties in Hotan Prefecture

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

India has registered a strong protest to China’s announcement of the establishment of two new counties in Hotan Prefecture of China, parts of the jurisdiction of which fall in India’s Union Territory of Ladakh. The government of India has also expressed “concern” over an upcoming mega-dam in Tibet across the Tsangpo River (known as Brahmaputra in India).

China has announced the creation of Hean and Hekang counties in the restive Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. “We have never accepted the illegal Chinese occupation of Indian territory in this area. The creation of new counties will neither have a bearing on India’s longstanding and consistent position regarding our sovereignty over the area nor lend legitimacy to China’s illegal and forcible occupation of the same. We have lodged a solemn protest with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)

The establishment of the counties, both administered by Hotan prefecture, has been approved by the central committee of Communist Party of China and State Council, Xinhua reported last month. Aksai Chin, which India claims as its own, has been under illegal Chinese occupation since the 1950s. The 1962 war between the two countries included major battles on the western edge of Aksai Chin.

India has also vowed to take necessary measures in connection with the Chinese government’s approval of a hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. India has urged Beijing to ensure that the decision does not harm the interests of downstream states. The river, also known as Yarlung Zangbo, flows through Tibet into Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and is known as the Brahmaputra in India. The hydropower project is located in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region.

“We have seen the information released by Xinhua on 25th December 2024 regarding a hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. As a lower riparian state with established user rights to the waters of the river, we have consistently expressed, through expert-level as well as diplomatic channels, our views and concerns to the Chinese side over mega projects on rivers in their territory,” Jaiswal said.

“These concerns have been reiterated, along with the need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries, following the latest report. The Chinese side has been urged to ensure that the interests of downstream states of the Brahmaputra are not harmed by activities in upstream areas. We will continue to monitor and take necessary measures to protect our interests,” he added.

As a lower riparian state, with considerable established user rights to the waters of the trans-border rivers, the Indian government carefully monitors all developments relating to the Brahmaputra river, including plans by China to develop hydropower projects.

In its 12th Five Year Plan for the period 2011-2015, China had planned to develop three more hydropower projects on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra River in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Of the three, the first unit of the hydropower project at Jiacha was operationalized in August 2020. In March 2021, China adopted its 14th Five-Year Plan which mentioned plans for hydropower development on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra river.

“The Chinese side has conveyed to us on several occasions that they are only undertaking run-of-the-river hydropower projects, which do not involve diversion of the waters of the Brahmaputra. Various issues relating to trans-border rivers are discussed with China under the ambit of the institutionalized expert-level mechanism as well as through diplomatic channels. We intend to remain engaged with China on the issue of trans-border rivers to safeguard our interests,” V Muraleedharan, the then Minister of State for External Affairs, had said while replying to a question in Lok Sabha in July 2021.