Courcy’s Intelligence Brief

*** Indian fears over China water plans.  The possibility of China diverting the waters of the Brahmaputra to the detriment of India has been raised again.  The river enters India from Tibet and is vital to the Indian state of Assam.  Following reports of new Chinese plans to divert waters to Xinjiang, India’s External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said on 13 June that he was seeking clarification from Beijing.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is to meet with Krishna on 16 June to ask him to pursue the question with vigour,  He has said that he is "very concerned" about the reported Chinese plan as any diversion in the course of the river would affect Assam’s agricultural economy.

The issue has also been taken up with some enthusiasm by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose spokesman said: “These reports are of real concern to India.  Since the last two years there are reports that China wants to divert the Brahmaputra waters from the Himalayas.  If it is diverted, we will have terrible environmental, ecological, and real problems which will affect the economy of the whole region.”

*** Clinton warns Africa about China.  On 11 June, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton provided further evidence that US-China relations are going through a rocky patch with remarks recorded for a television programme in Zambia.  Clinton described China’s policies in Africa as a “new colonialism”.

She said: “We saw that during colonial times it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders, and leave...And when you leave, you don’t leave much behind for the people who are there.  We don’t want to see a new colonialism in Africa.”  China’s foreign ministry responded by saying: “We hope the parties concerned will view Sino-African cooperation in an objective and just manner.”

Interestingly, as we reported in our 25 May issue, India has also been critical of Western attitudes to Chinese as well as Indian engagement in Africa.  A senior Indian official accompanying Prime Minister Singh during his recent visit to Africa complained on 24 May that the West was trying to portray the engagement in Africa of both China and India in a negative light to protect its own vested interests.  He said: “The West is setting up Africa as a zone of contention.  They want to play India against China.  They want us to be at each other’s throat.”

*** Egypt delays resuming ties with Iran.  Egypt has been under huge US pressure not to resume diplomatic relations with Iran.  On 12 June, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Abdallah al-Araby confirmed that “Iran is not an enemy of Egypt”, but he added that the decision to resume diplomatic relations will be left to the new Egyptian parliament to decide in about three months’ time.  Leaving it to parliament will neatly sidestep US objections.