690 Book Reviews led by Aung San Suu Kyi, nothing much is going to change there in terms of China’s domination of the economy and infrastructure. The recent visit of Hillary Clinton to Myanmar is indicative of the US seeing some space for manoeuvre in Myanmar. India cannot be far behind. Scenario building is the ‘proof of the pudding’ in any strategic discourse. Brahma Chellaney has done it in his recent book, Water: Asia’s New Battleground, as has Raja Menon in his net assessment-based book, Long View from Delhi. Mohan Malik too does full justice and offers a kaleidoscope of scenarios across the spectrum of strate- gic options, from the highly unlikely collaborative and cooperative to the probable competitive and possible confrontation scenarios. Based on impeccable research that highlights a growing asymmetry in all-round defence capability, including the nuclear segment, Malik argues that the possibility of an Indo–China border conflict over the next few years emerges as never before because of a growing assertiveness of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) amidst a political establishment that is in flux, and an increasing irritation at the success of India’s deft diplomacy and stepped-up mil- itary engagement in the region. Though a trifle alarmist in texture and not factoring in India’s increasing ability to counter any such threat, the book nevertheless offers a realistic view of India’s defence preparedness vis-à-vis China. The issue of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) region emerging as a contested space also comes out clearly in numerous arguments, suggesting the need for India to reorient its primarily land-centric defence posture to one that is more balanced. It is inevitable that the US features as a major balancing power in this contest. Direct US military support for India in a con- flict with China is also suggested; a prospect that seems remote considering India’s obsession with strategic autonomy and the reluctance of the US to get involved again in ‘somebody else’s war’. Ensuring that all the capability building envisaged by India over the next five-year plan is vigorously pursued to fruition seems to be the only way of keeping the aggressive Chinese at bay. The book is a must-read for all China watchers within India’s academic and strategic community. * The reviewer is a serving Air Vice Marshal in the Indian Air Force. Brahma Chellaney, Water: Asia’s New Battleground, HarperCollins, Uttar Pradesh, 2011, 386 pp., Rs. 699, ISBN 978-93-5029-161-0 Medha Bisht * T here is an ongoing debate about the nature of changing power equations (economic, political and military) among countries, with many scholars arguing that the power shift from the West to the East is inevitable in the coming years. While the debate is animated by scholars such as Kishore Mehbubani, G. John Ikenberry, Parag Khanna, John Mearsheimer, Fareed Zakaria and Charles Kupchan, Brahma Chellaney in his latest book, Water: Asia’s New Battleground, advances the argument that ‘the rise and fall of powers in Asia could be influenced by water in much the same way that oil in the past century played a key role in determining the ascent and decline of states’ (p. 8). Water scarcity, he argues will be the major reason for straining inter-riparian relations, thus making Asia a potential flashpoint for water