The Mekong offers an opportunity for cooperation involving China, US, Japan and India, avoiding turning another waterway into an arena for great power rivalry

A month ago, the Third Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, with the Lao, Thai and Vietnamese premiers joining host Prime Minister Hun Sen. As in the previous meetings, China, the upstream nation, was present, but only as a dialogue partner. So, too, Myanmar.

Established in 1995, the MRC is an intergovernmental organisation for regional dialogue and cooperation in the lower Mekong river basin based on the Mekong Agreement between Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. It serves as a regional platform for water diplomacy as well as a knowledge hub of water resources management for the sustainable development of the region. The commission looks across all sectors, including maintaining the freedom of navigation and flood management.  read more …https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/avoiding-a-south-china-sea-trap-on-mainland-s-e-asia

A 35-year veteran of the trade, he has reported from across Asia, and the US. Formerly Foreign Editor and South Asia Bureau Chief of ST, he is as much at ease with global business and macro-economic issues as he is with diplomacy and international politics. A Jefferson Fellow, Ravi previously worked with Bloomberg News, Time Warner magazines and Agence France-Presse

Ravi Velloor – Associate Editor