News

A six-month consultation process has begun for the proposed 770MW Pak Lay hydropower project on the Mekong mainstream in Lao PDR, the Mekong River Commission has announced, despite Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith’s recent announcement that investments in new hydropower in the country will be suspended. ...

China is often thought of as a country that suppresses internal conflicts, usually to great effect. But there are a number of notable exceptions and, of these, conflicts over water are perhaps the most intriguing.  []But in some cases China has been a constructive neighbour, for ...

The Mekong River Commission and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have launched a joint study on forest conservation and river basin management in the lower Mekong aimed at improving management and environmental conservation of the area. Keep reading ...

The Mekong River Commission met in Siem Reap province last week to discuss alternative energy solutions, large-scale Chinese investment, and governance issues. Keep reading ...

The four member countries of the Mekong River Commission today confronted predictions of social and environmental disaster if damming and other development projects in the region are allowed to proceed as planned. The warnings, contained in a 3,600-page report prepared by the MRC Council, point ...

Presented with “frightening” possibilities due to intense damming, the leaders of the Mekong River Commission member countries gave little sign Thursday they had heeded calls to fundamentally rethink water policy for the shared waterway, with the exception of Vietnam. Keep reading ...

China and Mekong River countries have joined hands to strive for better regional integration, economic growth and sustainable development, an official with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) said.  Keep reading ...

In September 1957, representatives from the four countries in the lower Mekong basin met in Bangkok to take the first steps towards cooperative development and management of their shared water resources. The agreement they signed established the Mekong Committee, the predecessor of the Mekong River ...

Next week, the leaders of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam will gather for the third Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in Siem Reap. A key aim is to enhance joint efforts and partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Keep reading ...

Australia convened a meeting recently with six South-east Asian states focused on counter-terrorism. The meeting in Perth was not only a notable development in and of itself but also just the latest example of the use of minilateralism in the security realm in South-east Asia. []These ...