Releasing water from China’s dams ‘won’t wash away mistrust’ over Mekong
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.
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“There has been criticism of China’s control of water resources in the Mekong countries long before this year’s drought,” Zhang said.