Mekong dams store up trouble for China downstream
China has been accused of limiting the water to one of the world’s biggest rivers to feed its hydroelectric dams.
David Stilwell, the US assistant secretary of state for east Asia and the Pacific, said that Beijing was manipulating the water flows of the Mekong with upstream dam projects to the detriment of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Burma.
He said before a regional forum this week: “One especially urgent challenge is [China’s] manipulation of the Mekong flows for its own profit at great cost to downstream nations.
“Right now, the Mekong is suffering from [the] lowest water levels ever recorded, which is devastating harvests [and] threatening food and water security throughout the region.”
Didi Tang
