News
Why Laos’ reliance on Chinese money could bankrupt the country
Laos remains on the United Nation’s (UN) list of least developed nations. The government wants the country to graduate from this list. To try to achieve this, it has borrowed money from abroad to fund infrastructure projects. The government’s policy is risking short-term prosperity for ...
John Pennington
China’s Stoppage of Water at Yunnan Dam Affecting Shipping on Mekong in Chiang Rai
China has stopped discharging water from Yunnan Dam into the Mekong River, affecting boat services on the Mekong River in Chiang Rai Province. The Mekong River which runs through China’s Yunnan province has seen a significant drop in water levels in many areas after Yunnan ...
China slaps seasonal fishing ban on Yellow River due to overfishing
China will impose a ban on fishing in the Yellow River, the country’s second-longest waterway, between April 1st and June 30th every year because of overfishing. []Earlier this month, the government invested 17.6 billion yuan (€2.25 billion) to improve the Sanjiangyuan area, which is also home ...
Clifford Coonan
China invests in river-head environment
China has invested some 17.6 billion yuan(2.8 billion U.S. dollars) in improving the Sanjiangyuan area, the source of China’s major rivers. Sanjiangyuan in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, literally means the “source of three rivers,” is home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow, and Lancang ...
Mo Hong'e
China's debt-trap diplomacy: Inquirer columnist
This is not the kind of invasion that Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio warns about, but a subtle and insidious mode of conquest that could undermine Philippine sovereignty in the long term. In fact, with the way Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano is defending ...
Alito L. Malinao
World View: China’s Mekong River Dams Criticized for Affecting Other Countries’ Livelihoods
Multiple dams and hydropower projects being built in China on the Lancang Jiang River, which becomes the Mekong River when it leaves China, are having a significant effect on the livelihoods and living conditions of millions of people along the Mekong River in downstream countries. ...
Resource-hungry China is in overdrive as it wages water wars by stealth
China’s hyperactive dam building is a reminder that, while the international attention remains on its recidivist activities in the South China Sea’s disputed waters, it is also focusing quietly on other waters – of rivers that originate in Chinese-controlled territory like Tibet and flow to ...
Brahma Chellaney
Commentary: Forging stronger ties among Lancang-Mekong nations
The latest Lancang-Mekong leaders’ meeting has proved to be a summit not paying lip service, but yielding tangible results, bringing the countries closer to a community of shared future.Keep reading ...
Lifang
Is Chinese investment taking over the Mekong?
China is shoring up its sphere of influence in Southeast Asia through aid and investment. By funding infrastructure and development, China can increase its economic and strategic leverage over poorer neighbors.Keep reading ...
Ate Hoekstra
‘Proactive diplomacy’ in Mekong River dispute only way to resolve brewing conflict
The ferocity of rows over vital sea lines carrying up to a third of global trade valued at US$5 trillion annually has embittered relations between China and some Southeast Asian claimant states. Meanwhile, external powers such as the United States have jumped into the fray, ...
Richard Heydarian