Following the August 26 Nepal-Tibet border flood, triggered by a massive glacier and rock collapse in the Himalayas, questions remain about how the disaster will impact and influence regional cooperation.
Allen Carlson, an associate professor of government at Cornell University and an expert on Chinese foreign policy, says the disaster could become both a humanitarian and geopolitical test for China.
Carlson says: “Beijing has spent the past decade describing the Tibetan plateau as Asia’s water tower and the earth’s third pole, framings that assert Chinese stewardship over a shared resource. The tragic August 26 flood is a hard test of that claim on both sides of the border.
“On the Tibetan side of it, the area nearest the flood remains closed to outside observers, and while satellite and seismic analysis have established what triggered the flood, the casualty figures and the conduct of the response come from Xinhua and CCTV alone, with no foreign journalist permitted anywhere near the zone.
“On the Nepali side, China has already sent tunnel experts and airlifted relief at Nepal's request, but questions loom about how sustained its involvement in the recovery will be, and how welcome it will be in Kathmandu.
“So, while the human toll of the tragedy continues to mount, its geopolitical ramifications are also looming and may reveal a great deal about what the future of the Himalayan region will look like.”
