This content was originally published by Pacific Forum, and it has since been republished. Learn the original , around.
At the 37th Asia-Pacific Roundtable:  , Crisis in an Interregnum held in Kuala Lumpur June 4-6, 2024, scholars and practitioners from across the globe covered a range of issues and problems in the region.
There have been contentious discussions about Gaza, Ukraine, and the South China Sea. China’s attitude and actions in these global security issues were examined at the Roundtable as a growing global power. The Mekong River, where the lives of over 50 million people are at risk, is one that has been overlooked.
Since last year, escalating , tensions , and skirmishes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea have once again made the articles. This issue prompted ASEAN to release an “unprecedented”  , joint statement , on the matter before the end of 2023.
There is another body of water that has received much less interest than it should, despite The Atlantic calling the South China Sea issue” the most dangerous, fight no one is talking about.” Conspicuously absent from the Roundtable’s debate, yet, was the issue of the Mekong River’s transnational management.
The Mekong River, also known as the Lancang River within China, flows through five , East Asian island says: Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In recent years, the valley has drawn a lot of controversy, many of which involve China.
While the South China Sea territorial problems have elements of economic rewards, freedom of navigation, and stability, the main language has to do with asserting national independence. In contrast, what occurs on the Mekong does have a significant impact on the lives of many more.
The Mekong River Commission ( MRC ) estimated that out of nearly 65 million people who live in the Lower Mekong River Basin,  , 80 % of them depend on the river for their livelihoods.
There is an additional level of political difficulty for a valley that spans several states, such as the Mekong.
Because the river flows into the Indochina coast from the Tibetan Plateau, China may be putting a significantly greater risk ( intentionally or unintentionally ) to its southern neighbors than its South China Sea rival claims.
Despite the motives given above, the Mekong is still significantly less obvious than the South China Sea. What might the causes of this be?
The Mekong River is a much more complex issue with South Asian state having divergent interests, compared to the South China Sea debate, which is primarily between China and Southeast Asian claimants who have a common interest in standing up against Beijing.
Laos hopes to become the” Battery of Asia” by utilizing several hydropower dams that China and Thailand have invested in, and Vietnamese power is also being sold to Vietnam.
The very controversial , Xayaburi Dam project , in Laos has been criticized for its negative effects, particularly on upstream Mekong states including Cambodia. Yet at the same time, maybe somewhat ironically, Cambodia has also been building several rivers with , Chinese support , within its own place.
The complexity of the Mekong paints a less granular portrait of how Southeast Asian nations do not compete with China; rather, there are a jumble of economic and security interests spanning the world.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN )’s institutional structure contributes to a somewhat speculative aspect.
We discussed why the Mekong River has attracted much less interest from ASEAN and beyond in a previous conversation between myself and Spanish political commentator Richard Javad Heydarian, even before the new hostilities between China and the Philippines, which brought the conflict into focus.
Heydarian noted that despite having existed for more than five years and having all of the mainland’s nations joined before the turn of the century, ASEAN still places a greater focus on sea Southeast Asia.
It also happens to be the case that member states that are more involved with the South China Sea problem, such as the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia, which is not a claim but remain concerned due to its passions in the , North Natuna Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia are more important diplomacy and thus, can be more speech in their problems.
Another less well-known boards may host more in-depth discussions of the Mekong. In addition to the MRC, there are the , Asian Development Bank‘s Greater Mekong Subregion , ( GMS ) framework and the , Lancang-Mekong Cooperation , ( LMC) initiated by China.
Understandably, conversations taking spot on these websites may have received less attention in assessment. Cambodia and Laos, the most economically dependent nations in the Mekong dispute, are highly dependent on China, so they would be less voice on this topic than the Philippines on the South China Sea.
The fact that most people in the world are unaware of the Mekong is perhaps the most important yet terrible purpose for our ignorance of it.
The South China Sea is a big trading street that serves many of the nation’s leading economy, the Philippines, a vocal claim in the dispute, is a long-term agreement supporter of the United States.
The Mekong, on the other hand, rarely affects anyone outside the place apart from anxious environmentalists. Even though the Mekong affects a larger number of East Asian lives than the South China Sea, there would be less international interest on this issue.
Regardless of the cause of the lack of interest across the globe, it is clear that the Mekong has a significant role in modern society, particularly in terms of understanding China’s overseas relations.
China has 11 rivers on the Upper Mekong, which have been accused of exacerbating the drought river in 2019 by , holding back , “vast volumes of important water from flowing over”. China is the world’s only source of life, and China should be aware of this. However, the Mekong topic is only becoming more severe against the backdrop of culture change, which is already , adversely impacting island Southeast Asia.
Although the South China Sea conflict is a major issue that merits all the special interest it is getting, it is still crucial to give the Mekong priority because it will be extremely important in Southeast Asia’s growth and the state’s relations with China for years to come.
Truston Yu ( [email protected] ) is a visiting student at the National University of Laos and holds a bachelor’s degree with first-class honors from the University of Hong Kong. They have written over 30 commentary pieces for publications like the Diplomat, the Jakarta Post, and the Islands Times.
This content was originally published by Pacific Forum, and it has since been republished. Learn the original , around.