Diplomatic win for India: China agrees to share Brahmaputra data after trans-border river communication

New Delhi, March 29: India and China agreed to share hydrological information to manage their trans-border rivers during times of crisis as the two countries finished with their two-day talks.

“On the basis of humanitarian spirit and our shared will to develop bilateral ties, we will continue with the cooperation on hydrological information cooperation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing.

Lu said during the talks the two sides reviewed achievements of the previous meetings as well as bilateral cooperation on emergency and response, and hydrological information.

“The two sides have agreed to continue with such cooperation. On the grounds of humanitarian principles and the basis of bilateral relations China will continue with this cooperation with the Indian side on the provision of hydrological information and emergency response cooperation,” Lu said.

Asked whether China would resume the data, Lu said “since you made it quite clear”, China will continue with the cooperation on hydrological information cooperation.

China’s announcement to not to share the data came soon after the 73-day-long stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam over Chinese military’s plans to build a road close to India’s Chicken Neck corridor connecting the northeastern states.

The two-day talks of the 11th meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on Trans-Border Rivers concluded yesterday at Hangzhou, a statement from the Indian Embassy here said today.