US asks China to 'live up to its commitments' in Mekong River basin, demands transparency

Acting on Cambodian farmers’ complaints who are unable to harvest rice due to ‘extremely’ low water levels downstream, the United States on Tuesday called out at China to share “timely and essential water data” of the Mekong River basin, including all of its upstream dam operations. According to reports by the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the water outflow from the Jinghong hydropower station in China’s Yunnan province has been dropping to ‘worrying’ levels due to PRC’s power grid maintenance. This has widely impacted countries downstream like Thailand, Lao PDR, and Cambodia. Questioning China’s management of transboundary resources in the region, the US state department spokesperson Ned Price, Tuesday, resonated Mekong region governments’ concerns, asking PRC to “live up to its commitments to water data transparency.” The US also asked China to shun pursuing its national interest in the governance of the Lancang- Mekong River and opt for a trans-governmental approach around the basin. 

“United States supports transparency and accountability in managing transboundary resources. For decades, these values have guided our work to promote the health and sustainability of the Mekong River and the nearly 70 million people whose livelihoods depend on it,” the US department of state said in a statement.

Citing the recent rapid fluctuations in the Mekong River water levels, the United States advised China, that it was essential to “live up to commitments and consult with downstream countries.” Under the Mekong-US Partnership, the Biden administration has been supportive of the local communities with its Mekong region Mekong Water Data Initiative, the Mekong Dam Monitor, and other tools that the US launched to enable transparency among the partner countries. 

[Credit: MRC]

[Credit: MRC]

Last month,  China’s Ministry of Water Resources issued a statement to Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS), saying that the “maintenance of transmission lines of the power grid” on Mekong dam will result in outflow reduction at 1,000 cubic meters per second effective January 5 until 24. However, China had alleged that the water flow will be “gradually restored”. Although, in its recent analysis, the MRC’s observation and forecasting team found that there had been an almost 50 percent drop in the water volume in the Mekong river’s level, which stretches from Vientiane to Paksane of Lao PDR, including Nongkhai of Thailand.

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[Mekong River covers a distance of nearly 5,000 km from its source on the Tibetan Plateau in China to the Mekong Delta and flows through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Viet Nam. Credit: MRC]

Local livelihood impacted

In a warning issued last month, the MRC said: “Navigation activities on the Mekong River, especially around the areas close to Jinghong, may be affected more than the other places.” This included Cambodia. Head of the MRC Regional Flood and Drought Management Centre, Dr. Lam Hung Son, said that the local livelihood activities downstream, such as river weed harvesting and fishing, were hampered. Under an agreement between China and the MRC, China pledged to notify the member countries of “any abnormal rise or fall in water level or discharge, and other information on factors that might lead to a sudden flood.” Over the course of last month, water levels downstream that flow through Cambodia, along the Mekong in Stung Treng and Kratie had been declining steadily, although, the levels, according to MRC remained higher than the long-term average.

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