Reacting to the Chinese move, the official spokesperson

in MEA has said India carefully monitors all developments on the Brahmaputra River. "As a lower riparian state with considerable established user rights to the waters of the River, India has conveyed its views and concerns to the Chinese authorities, including at the highest levels." The official spokesperson also stressed the need for China to ensure that the interests of downstream states are not harmed by any activities in upstream areas. Maintaining that its move to build three more dams on Brahmaputra river in Tibet will not affect the flows to down stream areas, China has said it is in "communication and cooperation" with India over cross-border river issues. "China has always taken a responsible attitude towards cross-border river development. China and India are maintaining communication and cooperation on the cross-border river issue," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying had told reporters in Beijing. However, Hua did not specify whether the two countries are in communication regarding the new dams which it proposes to build by 2015. Brahmaputra river is known as as Yarlung Zangbo in China. Beijing's decision comes at a time when India-China relations have improved considerably in all areas of cooperation. The two countries held lengthy rounds of bilateral exchanges during National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon's and his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo's visit to Beijing and New Delhi, respectively. (More)