Water resources
Surface water
Vietnam Needs to Break Its Addiction to Chinese Coal
When it comes to the effects of global climate change, Vietnam is one of the world’s most at-risk nations. Rising sea levels threaten to inundate both the Mekong and Red River Deltas, potentially impacting tens of millions of people. Vietnam is also one of the fastest ...
Brian Malczyk and Tim Robinson
People’s network takes on China over Mekong
Local residents and environmentalists spent the weekend having a hot debate with the Chinese Embassy about Beijing’s utilisation and management of the Mekong River. While the embassy accused Thai media of spreading false information on China’s development projects in Southeast Asia’s longest rivers, the Thai Mekong ...
The Mekong in US Asia Strategy: Opportunities and Challenges
When the next round of Asian summitry kicks off later this month in Bangkok, one of the key areas that will be in the spotlight within U.S. policy will be the Washington’s approach to the Mekong subregion – a shorthand for the area in mainland Southeast ...
Prashanth Parameswaran
Villagers in Laos and Thailand Suffer as China Opens the Floodgates on Mekong River Dams
Villagers living near the Mekong River in Thailand and Laos are finding it difficult to cope with sudden releases of water from dams upstream in China. More than 200 famililes living in Laos’ Bokeo province have suffered because of sudden increases in the height of the ...
Thailand encourages South Korean investment in Mekong subregion development projects
THAILAND has reassured South Korea there will be plenty of opportunities for the country’s participation in development projects in the Mekong subregion, the Foreign Ministry said. Several development projects are planned for this year and the next that can be carried out under the Mekong-ROK cooperation ...
Conference promotes cooperation to protect Mekong River
A conference on how to enhance cooperation in protecting the Mekong River via smarter water energy planning approaches and wide application of renewable energy throughout the Mekong region was held in Hanoi on June 28. The event was jointly organised by the Stimson Centre, the International Union for ...
It’s not just melting glaciers that endanger the Mekong and its region
Recent reports of a rapid diminishment in the size of the glaciers that feed the great rivers of Asia, including the Mekong, have received wide coverage, not least because they are accompanied by striking visuals. What is happening at the other end of the river in the ...
Milton Osborne
Mekong Region Grows More Important to China-US Relations
Amid increasingly tense China-U.S. relations, a U.S. official alluded to China but did not specifically name China regarding “risks” and “challenges” imposed by approaches to dam building and cross-border riverine practices in the Mekong region. At a workshop in Phnom Penh by the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation ...
Aun Chhengpor
MRC urged to prioritise steps to protect river basin
Development partners on Thursday asked the Mekong River Commission to prioritise policies to protect the basin in future development strategies, noting that the Mekong river basin is among the most vulnerable regions due to climate change. Representatives from European Union, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, ...
Pech Sotheary
China winning new Cold War on the Mekong
When the state tabloid China Daily ran a paid advertisement in the New York Times extolling the virtues of Beijing’s proliferating dams in Laos, the piece sparked a new cold war controversy. Entitled “Employment on hydroelectric project in Laos delivers better lives”, the piece stated that ...
