Imagine the Mighty Mekong Basin not as a source of friction among riparian countries but as a platform of joint management and development across ASEAN. To make this happen, a new deal is needed that involves multiple countries across different sectors. Rising on the Tibetan Plateau and running some 4,800 kilometres through six countries, Southeast Asia’s largest river makes Thailand and Vietnam two of the world’s top rice exporters, powers Laos as the “battery of ASEAN” and sustains Cambodia as the largest inland fishery producer on earth. As a cultural artery, the Mekong ties together fabled cities from China’s Xishuangbanna and Thailand’s Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang in Laos, and onward to the industrialising hubs of Phnom Penh in Cambodia and Can Tho in Vietnam. For most non-riparian ASEAN states, Mekong rice is likely on many dinner tables and for Malaysia and Singapore, Mekong-generated electricity has started to flow into their grids. Every year, millions of Southeast Asians travel to experience the river’s landscapes. In short, the Mekong is a strategic asset for all ASEAN countries, not only for those along its banks.
A New Deal for the Mekong (Anoulak Kittikhoun – FULCRUM)
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