Rivers as the New Frontlines of Geopolitics

Jun 8, 2025 | Samirul Ariff Othman
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We are used to thinking of power grids, trade routes, and semiconductor fabs as the terrain of 21st-century power competition. But now add rivers—yes, rivers—to that list. Not just as lifelines of civilisation, but as instruments of national leverage. What's unfolding high on the Tibetan plateau, in a canyon deeper than the Grand Canyon and barely touched by modernity, is a tectonic shift—both literal and geopolitical.