Water is the topic of the latest Occasional Paper published by the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. “State Water Resource Competition and the Resulting Consequences of Diminished Water Supply” by Mitchell L. Gildea looks at state competition and conflict over diminishing water resources in the Asia-Pacific region. Originally produced as a masters program thesis, the paper directly compares the Indus and Mekong regions showing the relational challenges and successes of the riparian countries involved and the role of China as an upstream water partner.

You can download this paper online at:

https://dkiapcss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/OP_WaterSecurity_Gildea_2014.pdf 

An alumnus of the Asia-Pacific Orientation Course (APOC 11-2), Gildea is currently employed as an IT Specialist at U. S. Pacific Command. He retired from the U. S. Coast Guard as a Chief Warrant Officer after 26 years of service in 2006. He recently completed the Master of Arts in Diplomacy and Military Studies program at Hawaii Pacific University and his thesis was the capstone for that program.

The views expressed in this study are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of APCSS, the U.S. Pacific Command, the U.S. Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

 

Map of the Indus Basin (source-US senate report)

Figure 1. Map of the Indus River Basin. Source: Amélie Joseph, “Map of the Indus Basin (source: US senate report),” Friends of the Earth Middle East, entry posted December 30, 2012, http://foeme.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/cooperating-over-water/ (accessed November 25, 2013).

 

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