New study shows China caused drought in the Mekong, local experts must have control of their resources

“No fish. Nothing. We can only catch enough to eat ourselves. We fish through the night and all we catch is one or two skewers for cooking,” a Lao fisherman told Radio Free Asia earlier this year. He spoke to journalists on his boat on the Mekong River ...

Skylar Lindsay

OPINION: China's drain on Mekong

More water discharged from Chinese dams to the lower Mekong River in the dry season and less water in the rainy season. That means a reduction of drought and flooding in the lower Mekong countries. That was the ideal “cooperation” Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam ...

OPINION: The Mekong is the test of China’s leadership

The Mekong River originates in China and winds its way south, flowing through or past five other countries — Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam — before it empties into the South China Sea. The Mekong is the beating heart of the region, and while ...

BRAD GLOSSERMAN

Mekong river groups urge China to show transparency after dam report

Groups working to protect the Mekong River have called for greater transparency and cooperation from China after a report that Chinese dams held back water during a damaging drought in downstream countries last year. China has disputed the findings of the U.S. government-funded study and said ...

Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, and Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh, and James Pearson in Hanoi; Editing by Matthew Tostevin/Mark Heinrich

How China Turned Off the Tap on the Mekong River

For three decades, China has been building dams on the upper Basin of the Mekong River, worrying countries downstream that China could one day turn off the tap. New data shows that for six months in 2019, while China received above average precipitation, its dams ...

Brian Eyler

Chinese dams held back Mekong waters during drought, study finds

China’s Mekong River dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in downstream countries last year despite China having higher-than-average water levels upstream, a U.S. research company said in a study. China’s government disputed the findings, saying there was low rainfall during last ...

Kay Johnson

China Limited the Mekong’s Flow. Other Countries Suffered a Drought

As China was stricken by the coronavirus in late February, its foreign minister addressed a concerned crowd in Laos, where farmers and fishers across the Mekong River region were contending with the worst drought in living memory. His message: We feel your pain. The foreign minister, Wang Yi, ...

Hannah Beech

Thailand reopens 4 ports at Mekong River to allow essential goods from China to reach country

Thailand has lifted its ban to close four ports at the Mekong River to allow essential goods to be shipped to and from China as Thailand is currently facing the COVID-19 outbreak. The four ports, including cargo terminals and border crossing, were closed since March 21 ...

Xinhua

Two China-Laos Railway bridges complete closure over Mekong River

The Ban Ladhan Mekong River Super Major Bridge on Wednesday (April 1) achieved its main section closure over the Mekong River, and thus, major engineering works on both cross-Mekong bridges along the railway have been completed. According to the Laos-China Railway (LCRC), a joint venture in ...

Tonne of ganja seized on Mekong bank

A patrol from the Mekong Riverine Unit seized about 1,000 kilogrammes of compressed marijuana found in fertiliser sacks on the bank of the Mekong river in Bung Khong Long district of Bang Kan province late on Tuesday night, MRU commander R/Adm Sompong Sorn-akas said on ...

PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI

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