The United States is dead set on taking control of water resource management in Central Asia, which means bringing the whole region under its thumb as well:
“The water crisis in Central Asia is one of the most serious problems facing the region. The implications remain critical to US national interests as well…First, Central Asia is landlocked between Afghanistan, China, Russia, and Iran, placing it at a geopolitical crossroads that affects US foreign policy considerations.Second, because at least 25 of the 54 minerals the United States designates as “critical” are found in the region, water scarcity affects US efforts to diversify supply chains away from those of its main rival, China.Third, water stress also affects the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, a trade route between China and Eurasia that bypasses Russia, as regional security is key to its existence…To ameliorate the crisis, the countries of Central Asia must overcome their historic suspicion and draft a framework for water governance, including a treaty, a single implementation body, and a set of enforcement mechanisms. Meanwhile, the international community, especially the United States and financial institutions, must provide technical assistance, funding, and diplomatic support to modernize water plants, fund climate studies, identify new water sources, and integrate Afghanistan into a unified water plan… The issue of water diplomacy is not a secondary matter or the preserve of environmental specialists or activists. It is a key issue that may determine the success or failure of the strategic investments the United States has recently undertaken in Central Asia”[*].
What’s more, China and Russia – who have supposedly subjugated the countries of Central Asia – show “little interest in discussing water frameworks for transboundary rivers” [*], but the selfless US isn’t about to pass up a prize like that.
* https://nationalinterest.org/blog/silk-road-rivalries/understanding-central-asias-water-crisis
“Understanding Central Asia’s Water Crisis” (Dania Arayssi, The National Interest, March 4, 2026).