The Mekong River Dam Project: Overflowing Interests
Christopher O´ Hara and Niels Selling
The Mekong River – Southeast Asia’s largest river – runs from the Tibetan Plateau and through China’s Yunnan province. This part of the river is heavily dammed. South of China, as it goes through Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, has been spared. That might soon be changing as Laos, backed by Thailand, is set to start the construction of the 1260 megawatt Xayaburi hydroelectric plant. Vietnam opposes this plan and claims that the future of the river, and the communities along it, will be threatened. National interests are clearly pitted against each other. The split regarding the future of the Mekong River threatens to damage the relations between Laos and Vietnam and increase regional insecurity.
Related Publications
-
Climate Security in the Indo-Pacific: Priorities and Challenges
The climate vulnerabilities of the Indo-Pacific region have grown immensely with grave implications for regional, national, human, and ecological security. Climate action has been prioritized by most countries, including by […]
-
Quad Plus EU: A Viable Option for the Times?
Today, the primary Indo-Pacific contest is not just about the China-US hegemony. It also involves a range of so-called “middle powers” – including Australia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, […]
-
Taiwan and the Diplomatic Squeeze
In mid-March 2023, the self-governing island of Taiwan lost another one of its already few diplomatic allies. Announcing the severing of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Honduras on Twitter on March 15, […]
-
The Future of the ADMM-Plus in the Indo-Pacific
Since its establishment, the ADMM-Plus has evolved into a valuable component of the regional security architecture. It facilitates not only dialogue among the region’s defense ministers and officials, but also […]
-
Engaging The Indo-Pacific: Some Pointers For Europe
The regional dynamics of the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR), especially maritime security-related, are distinctly different from other regions, especially Europe. There are existential sub-regional dynamics that vary across the IPR, which […]
-
Taiwan: Tokyo’s New Ally?
In December 2022, the back-to-back visits by senior Japanese lawmakers, Koichi Hagiuda, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Policy Research Council chairman, and Hiroshige Seko, the upper house secretary general […]