China has long been criticised over its management of resources in the river’s upper reaches
On the surface it was meant to ease Southeast Asia’s record drought but analysts said China’s release of water from a Mekong River dam was superficial and unlikely to allay downstream mistrust about Beijing’s water diplomacy.
Southeast Asia is in the grip of its worst drought in decades, with supplies in the Mekong dwindling for both drinking water and irrigation.
The Mekong, known in China as the Lancang, runs from the Tibetan plateau through Yunnan to Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
China discharged water from the Jinghong dam in Yunnan between March 15 and April 10. The foreign ministry said more would be released from the dam until the “low-water period” was over.
While some observers applauded the move, critics said China had exacerbated the drought by building so many dams on the river. Zhang Mingliang, associate professor at Jinan University’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said the releases were superficial and unlikely to overcome longstanding criticism of China’s management of water in the river’s upper reaches.
“There has been criticism of China’s control of water resources in the Mekong countries long before this year’s drought,” Zhang said.
According to Myanmese news outlet Mizzima, China’s move “underscored the power China now holds over the Mekong River basin environment”.
Pianporn Deetes, Thailand and Burma campaign director for advocacy group International Rivers, said the releases appeared politically motivated.
“China officially informed downstream governments [about the release of water] … about a week before it hosted the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation [Leaders’ Meeting] … So I would say this is political,” Deetes said.
There is a common belief that China contributed only 13 to 18 per cent of the water in the Mekong, but in reality, she said, its influence was much greater. For instance, in parts of northern Thailand such as Chiang Saen, 90 per cent of the river’s volume during the dry season came from China, she said.
But that could be about to change.
At the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting last month, participants from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam pledged to establish a centre to cooperate on “technical exchanges, capacity building, drought and flood management, data and information sharing”. They also agreed to conduct joint research and analysis of the river’s resources.
Du said the meeting marked a change in China’s approach in regional development towards greater cooperation with Mekong countries.
However, there is also scepticism about China’s push to set up such an organisation.
“[The] Lancang-Mekong Cooperation [mechanism] might be a China-led replacement for the Mekong River Commission, which has not been functioning for years,” Deetes said.
The MRC is an intergovernmental agency that oversees the development of the Mekong. China has held observer status in the group for years. “This may cause competition with the MRC in which the United States as the donor has more influence. But the two organisations are not mutually exclusive,” Du said.
