India, Aug. 27 -- More than 150 people have died in Nepal this week, and hundreds are still missing after flash floods swept through the Bhote Koshi valley. The disaster has brought an old concern back into focus: China is building what is expected to be the world's largest hydropower project just around 30 km from the Arunachal Pradesh border, in one of the most earthquake prone parts of the Himalayas.

The Medog, or Motuo, Hydropower Station has been discussed for decades. Construction finally began in Nyingchi in July 2025, after Beijing formally approved the project eight months earlier. The project is located at the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo, where the river makes a sharp turn before entering India as the Siang and eventually...