According to a report by the Times of India on the 23rd, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited India from the 21st to the 22nd. The two sides signed 10 cooperation agreements/memoranda of understanding and announced more than 10 initiatives.
One of them, which makes the Indian media very excited, is that India will soon send a technical team to Bangladesh to manage and protect the Teesta River in Bangladesh. The Indian media said that this move was intended to deal with China.
To be honest, seeing this news, it was unexpected and reasonable.
In recent years, Bangladesh has signaled that it is more willing to give China about the Teesta River renovation project. Previously, Bangladesh had sought China's help, and the two sides already had some initial ideas and cooperation. For example, the two sides plan to build a multi-purpose barrage and dredge and build embankments for parts of the river with the aim of improving the river's water conditions. For example, China has already completed its survey of the river's conditions and submitted a revised and less costly proposal for the management of the Teesta River to Bangladesh last year. In addition, in view of Bangladesh's economic woes, China is also considering a $5 billion loan to Bangladesh.
It can be said that China has made sufficient preparations to facilitate the conclusion of this cooperation.
So, under such favorable conditions in China, why did Bangladesh still choose to throw itself into the arms of India?
India and Bangladesh have a long history of "water politics" problems arising from the distribution of water rights. According to the data, 54 international rivers are shared between India and Bangladesh, including the Teesta River. The Teesta River originates in the Himalayas, crosses India, and enters Bangladesh. This means that India has a natural upstream advantage.
It is with this advantage that India has built two dams on the upper Teesta River, which it says is to effectively control flooding and reduce potential threats to the Indian mainland.
India's move is good for itself, but it hurts Bangladesh. The floodgates are opened during the monsoon, which leads to flooding, and the summer gates are closed to intercept the flow, bringing droughts. India's selfish restriction of Bangladesh's water resources has deepened the tension between Bangladesh and India.
Bangladesh had been hoping to sign a water agreement with India on the Teesta River, but it had been difficult. In 2011, the two sides discussed a draft agreement, but it ended with opposition from West Bengal. Then, when Modi took office in 2014, he promised Bangladesh that he would address the issue during that term. Who knows, Modi's empty check will last for decades.
In recent years, Bangladesh has been interested in leaning towards China because of China's "interest" in the Teesta River management project, and India has been hyping the possible geopolitical effects of the project. India is concerned that if China controls the volume and direction of the Tista River through the project, it will not only pose a potential threat to India's water security, but also affect India's influence in South Asia.
India's deep involvement in the project this time is nothing more than an attempt to strengthen its strategic alliance with Bangladesh and, as the Indian media promotes, to "balance" China's growing influence in the region.
The Bangladeshi Congress chose India, in part, because India has too much influence over Bangladesh. Bangladesh is worried that without India's permission, even if the construction of Sino-Bangladesh cooperation is forcibly started, there may be a risk of India's covert interference.
Now, India and Bangladesh have formally signed an agreement on the management of the Teesta River, marking India's success in "warping" this order from China, and the Indian side will definitely continue to brag about it in the future. Although it is a loss for China, China's strength is here, and river improvement projects are an area that Chinese companies are good at, but not India's forte. Coupled with India's obvious political agenda, it is difficult to guarantee that it will not hide its smuggling in the project. Whether China will pick up a leak in the later period is really not certain.