Making Sense of the “Many Mekongs
Political leaders are under constant pressure to introduce new initiatives, because new implies better, and that’s the nature of politics. Even clever repackaging of previous efforts is often not enough. So, it was quite a surprise when, in June 2018, Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha hosted a summit to resurrect ACMECS, the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy, an initiative launched by a predecessor in 2003 that had languished for several years.
Thomas Parks and Ben Zawacki
