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Mekong: A Vital Regional River Can Be a Route for U.S. Diplomacy
September 10th, 2023
Courtesy of Foreign Policy, a commentary that U.S. President Biden’s Vietnam deals should center on the Mekong: On Sept. 10, Joe Biden pays his first visit to Vietnam as U.S. president, where he is expected to ink a deal to elevate the U.S.-Vietnam relationship from “comprehensive” to “comprehensive strategic”—the highest level of Vietnam’s diplomatic hierarchy. […]
Read more »Vietnam’s Mekong Delta Is Sinking, But Innovations Offer Hope
July 28th, 2023
Courtesy of Nikkei Asia, a look at the threatened Mekong Delta: A ribbon of water runs alongside Ho Van Hong’s star-apple and durian trees, just wide enough for the farmer’s blue canoe to glide by. He scoops from the channel to water his orchard in the heart of the Mekong Delta. The grove has been […]
Read more »Latest Mekong Dam Will Produce Little Power, But Much Environmental Harm
July 24th, 2023
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, perspective on a dam project impacting an important Mekong tributary: Southeast Asia’s Mekong River, known as the most productive river system on the planet, sustains the livelihoods of tens of millions of people through fishing and farming. For years, the world’s largest inland fishery has also been under assault from […]
Read more »Melting Himalayan Glaciers Could Leave 2B People Facing Water Scarcity
July 1st, 2023
Via The National News, an article on a recent study that found that Himalayan glaciers in the region disappeared 65 per cent faster in the decade from 2011 to 2020: Himalayan glaciers providing critical water to nearly two billion people are melting faster than ever before due to climate change, exposing communities to unpredictable and […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Across Asia, China Has ‘Most to Lose’ If Rivers Run Dry
June 4th, 2023
Via EcoBusiness, a look at how – across Asia – China has the ‘most to lose’ if mother rivers run dry and don’t recover from climate change: Late last year, when two months of scorching heatwaves and a drought pushed China’s electricity grid to the brink and caused severe power shortages in multiple provinces, it […]
Read more »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 […]
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