China Reform Monitor: No. 1017

February 4:

The official China Daily has acknowledged India’s concerns about China’s plans to build three hydropower stations on the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, known as the Brahmaputra in India. A Chinese spokesperson assured the Indian side that “China is committed to carrying out simultaneous development and protection and has given consideration to the projects’ impact on the river’s lower reaches. The construction of the stations will not impact flood control, disaster reduction efforts, or the ecological environment on the lower reaches.” At an average altitude of 4,500 meters, the Yarlung Zangbo is the world’s highest river. It originates in the shrinking Himalayan glaciers and runs 2,057 kilometers through Tibet until flowing through India and into the Indian Ocean.

February 10:

India is pressing China to establish a bilateral mechanism to deal with cross-border water resources “on the lines of what India has with other countries like Pakistan.” New Delhi has proposed several options including a water commission, an inter-governmental dialogue or a treaty dealing with water issues, the Press Trust of India reports. In addition to one 510 MW dam already being built on the Brahmaputra in Zangmu, Tibet “without informing New Delhi,” Beijing will build three more at Dagu, Jiacha and Jiexu by 2015. China informed India only after its State Council approved the projects on January 23. Afterward, a high-level Indian inter-ministerial committee met to evaluate its implications for the river’s lower reaches. China claims its dams are run-of-the-river designs that will not affect downriver water flow.

February 13:

“Following years of breakneck growth that have strained energy and resources and worsened pollution,” China’s National Development and Reform Commission official has announced a ‘green’ building code for all government-invested buildings built after 2014. “Chinese buildings inefficiently consume too much energy and resources, while many buildings are demolished as fast as they are erected in some places, leading to significant waste,” said the official quoted in the official China Radio International. The new regulations will require existing urban buildings conduct renovations to increase efficiency to reach mandatory energy-saving standards by 2015. Housing projects will implement the new standards in China’s provincial capitals and any public construction project over 20,000 square meters. Meeting the new code’s minimum requirements is estimated to add at least 50 yuan to the construction cost of each square meter. Between 2011-2015 China wants to construct 1 billion square meters of green building space accounting for 20 percent of all new urban buildings in 2015. China, which currently has more than 40 billion square meters of existing buildings, adds about 2 billion square meters each year.

February 14:

State-run CCTV has broadcast live footage of three Chinese maritime surveillance vessels operating in waters within13 nautical miles of the Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku in Japanese) and sending warnings to Japanese coast guard patrol boats ordering them to leave. Four days earlier, to celebrate Chinese New Year, CCTV reported a live ceremonial flag-raising aboard a vessel complete with an honor guard regiment within the territorial waters of the disputed islands.

February 15:

Japan’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera has said that although it has no immediate plan to do so, Japan has the right make a pre-emptive military strike ahead of an imminent attack. “When an intention to attack Japan is evident, the threat is imminent, and there are no other options, Japan is allowed under the law to carry out strikes against enemy targets,” Onodera said in comments carried by the South China Morning Post.