News
Mekong dams store up trouble for China downstream
China has been accused of limiting the water to one of the world’s biggest rivers to feed its hydroelectric dams. David Stilwell, the US assistant secretary of state for east Asia and the Pacific, said that Beijing was manipulating the water flows of the Mekong with ...
Didi Tang
China’s Dam-Building Is Harming the Mekong River
The Mekong is one of Asia’s most important rivers, supporting 60 million people in Southeast Asia. But for the second consecutive year, the lower Mekong basin has hit a record low water flow, affecting irrigation, rice production and fisheries, all vital to the region’s food security. The drought ...
Bloomberg News
The Last Farewell to the Mighty Mekong
The miracle of the Mekong, where the pulsating force of the monsoon-driven river every year pushes its tributary to back up and reverse its flow into the great Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia, has again been disrupted and obstructed by dams, drought, and climate change. “This ...
Tom Fawthrop
US claims China’s ‘manipulation’ of Mekong is ‘urgent challenge’ for Southeast Asia
A senior US diplomat on Thursday said China’s “manipulation” of water flows in the Mekong River – currently at record lows – was an immediate challenge to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, signalling the issue could be on the agenda in a regional forum ...
Bhavan Jaipragas
As China’s role in Mekong grows, Asean states must weigh ties with US, other powers
Mainland Southeast Asia, especially the Mekong subregion, has become a site for renewed engagement by external powers, a trend driven by China’s proactive foreign policy as well as its promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative and minilateral forum, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC). The United States is ...
Pongphisoot Busbarat
China promises its Mekong neighbours priority access to a coronavirus vaccine developed in China
China stepped up its vaccine diplomacy on Monday with Premier Li Keqiang promising five Southeast Asian partners priority access to a coronavirus vaccine while also pledging to share water control information for flood-hit nations along the Mekong River. Li made the remarks at a videoconference of the Lancang-Mekong ...
Keegan Elmer
Mekong river steadily rising
The water level in the Mekong river is rising steadily and people living along its banks at this northeastern border province have been advised to take precautions against possible overflowing. On Monday morning, water in the Mekong river was about 9 metres high, 4m below the ...
PATTANAPONG SRIPIACHAI
China 'ready to share Mekong data'
China is ready to share data on water flows into the Mekong River, a longstanding request of downstream Southeast Asian countries, a Thai foreign ministry official said on Friday. Control of the waters is politically sensitive, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers and fishermen depend ...
New Mekong dam ignores threats to UNESCO World Heritage city, livelihoods and ecosystems
As US-China tensions turn towards the Mekong River and its dams, the area near Laos’ latest hydropower project on the river is already seeing major controversy around existing dam projects. The Lao government is preparing to start construction on the Luang Prabang Dam, a 1,460-megawatt (MW) project that will be ...
Editorial
A river running out of time – the mighty Mekong reduced to a trickle
In his book, River of Time, Jon Swain evoked brilliantly the heady beauty of Indochina and the great Mekong Delta in the very south of Vietnam, where the river finally meets the South China Sea. He also captured the terrifying uncertainty as the Vietnam War came to ...
LUKE HUNT
