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The Thirsty Dragon: Mekong Water Use Tests China’s Claimed ‘Good-Neighborliness’
May 16th, 2023
Via The Pacific Forum, a look at China’s use of Mekong River water: China claims to be a uniquely benevolent international actor—a great power that, unlike other great powers past and present, does not practice “power politics” (self-interested bullying of smaller states) and is not “selfish” or warlike. The PRC government styles itself as the custodian of principles […]
Read more »No Mainstream: The Mekong’s Competing Definitions
April 15th, 2023
Courtesy of The Diplomat, an article on how – both within and between nations – Southeast Asia’s largest river gives rise to competing, and in some cases conflicting, notions: Last September, during a Thailand-Australia Policy Dialogue organized by the Asia Foundation and the Australian National University in Canberra, I was reminded of the ice-breaking exercise […]
Read more »Laos Takes Another Step Forward on Controversial Mekong Dam
April 7th, 2023
Courtesy of The Diplomat, an article on continued progress towards the new China-backed Pak Lay hydropower project, one of nine dams that the Lao government has planned for the Mekong River: Yesterday, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that Thai and Chinese investors have signed a power purchase agreement that opens the way to the construction of a […]
Read more »Time To Change Myopic View Of The Mekong
April 7th, 2023
Via The Asia Times, commentary on saving the Mekong, which may require looking below the surface of the river: All eyes this week are on the Mekong, the mighty river that is the lifeblood of Southeast Asia. As prime ministers, diplomats, and business and finance leaders gather in Vientiane for the fourth Mekong River Commission […]
Read more »Controversial Mekong Dam In Laos Faces Economic and Regulatory Hurdles
December 15th, 2022
Via The Third Pole, a report on the controversial Phou Ngoy dam in Laos: The fishing village of Khoen Khen in southern Laos is a quiet place, nestled along the banks of the Mekong River and hemmed by a ridge of mountains. But tranquil as it may now appear, locals say they’re waiting for a […]
Read more »For Thai Fishers Facing Dwindling Catches, A Lao Dam Looms Large
June 11th, 2022
Via Mongabay, a report on the impact that a Laos dam will have upon Thai fishing communities: Laos plans to build a $2 billion, 684-megawatt dam on the Mekong River, just 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) from the Thai border. The proposed Sanakham dam is the latest in a cascade of more than a dozen dams […]
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