In a development, which has alarmed officials and strategic community here, Beijing is simultaneously working on bringing its rail link right upto Nyangtri — located on the border with Arunachal Pradesh and an area that China claims as its own.

Nyangtri is also the site where the Brahmaputra is proposed to be diverted northwards by the Chinese. The Chinese claim that the Nyangtri or Nyingchi prefecture includes some parts of Arunachal Pradesh. China proposes to build the largest dam in the world at this spot.

While the line to Xigaze near Tibet’s border with Nepal will extend south-west from Lhasa, the line to Nyangtri will extend towards Arunachal in the south-east. China proposes to build as many as six big dams in the region on the Brahmaputra in addition to a dozen or so it has already constructed.

“There is no real evidence till now that Brahmaputra waters have been diverted northwards by China, but the massive infrastructure build up at Nyangtri, including this rail link which they are working on, near the Great Bend doesn’t inspire confidence,” said an Indian government official.

The Great Bend is the place, where the Brahmaputra takes a decisive turn and flows towards India.

Strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney describes the rail link to Nyangtri as a significant new development. “The building of the railway to this area is significant because of two reasons: China has unveiled plans to construct there the world’s largest dam which will be more than twice bigger than Three Gorges Dam, now the world’s largest dam, and also because it will strengthen China’s rapid military deployment capability in the eastern (Arunachal) sector,” said Chellaney, adding that China is in a position to rapidly move forces and strike at India whenever it wants to.

From Arunachal Pradesh, again posted on LiveMint Posted: Thu, Jan 7 2010. 8:49 PM IST.

Watering down loans from development banks hardly seems the way to deal with China. But that is exactly what India seems to be doing, for the moment.

If reports are anything to go by, India has quietly reduced its borrowing under a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for projects in 2010. The original loan amount of $2.7 billion has been reduced to $1.6 billion. This has been done at India’s insistence.

One of the “victims” of this reduction will be Arunachal Pradesh, the state whose inclusion in the loan programme had riled China. China’s opposition to including Arunachal Pradesh in ADB-funded projects had led to a tough response from India. This opposition was overcome last year, after a strong diplomatic push by India, when the India Country Partnership Strategy (2009-12) was adopted at ADB. This came after months of Chinese opposition to the plan as it included a $60 million watershed development project in the north-eastern state.

Now, those gains have been frittered away. A report in the Business Standard on Wednesday pointed out that this had been done to “defuse tension” between India and China.

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Hat Tip: Varnam & Brahma Chellaney (via Twitter)

Hat Tip: CBCNN.

…According to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that China has not constructed any dam on Brahmaputra river that would have been a matter of concern for India.

…When the delegation raised the issue of Chinese incursions into the state, the Prime Minister reportedly assured them that the Centre will “tackle” the boundary question with the neighbouring country bilaterally.

“The Prime Minister told us not to worry. He said the Centre will tackle with the situation bilaterally,” said Congress MP from Arunachal West Takam Sanjoy, who was part of the delegation.