US NSA Sullivan will visit India today, will discuss Chinese dams during the visit

US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jack Sullivan will be visiting India on January 5 and 6. During this, he will meet his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and other top officials including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. This is the last visit to India by a senior official of the Biden administration. During the US NSA's visit to India, various issues including Chinese dams will also be discussed.

A senior White House administrative official said the primary purpose of Sullivan's visit is to discuss critical issues with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. During this, shared security priorities on everything from space, defense, artificial intelligence, and strategic technology cooperation to the Indo-Pacific and beyond will be discussed.

The US NSA is also expected to discuss the repercussions of Chinese dams with his counterpart. The US and its Western allies have traditionally seen India as a counterbalance to Chinese growing influence in Asia and elsewhere.

The US official said - "We have certainly seen in many places in the Indo-Pacific that dams built by China in high altitude areas, including the Mekong region, can not only damage the environment in the lower countries but can also affect the climate. "

Recently, China approved the construction of the world's largest dam on the Yarlung Zangbo River (the Chinese name of the Brahmaputra River) in Tibet. This project will be built on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet near the Indian border. In such a situation, India has made China aware of the dangers posed by the dam in the lower areas of the river. After Tibet, the Brahmaputra River enters India through Arunachal Pradesh and passes through Assam and Bangladesh before joining the Bay of Bengal.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had also said that the construction of a Chinese dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet would harm the ecosystem of the river in Assam. During the visit, Sullivan will also deliver a speech on India-centric foreign policy at IIT Delhi. Another US official said that Sullivan will not meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to India.