Media reported that China notified its downstream Mekong neighbors on Tuesday that it would reduce the discharge from the Jinghong Dam on the upper Mekong River from the 5th to the 24th of this month, due to the need to maintain its power transmission lines. But some experts say this is not a good enough reason.
According to Reuters, China has informed its downstream Mekong neighbors that the discharge of the Jinghong Dam, located upstream, will be reduced from 1,904 cubic meters per second to 1,000 cubic meters per second from the 5th to the 24th of this month, a reduction of about 47 percent. This move is to “maintain the transmission line (transmission line)”, will gradually return to normal on the 25th, but did not specify the exact amount of water.
Brian Eyle, director of the Southeast Asia program at the Stimson Center, a U.S. think tank responsible for the State Department-funded Mekong Dam Monitor, said in an interview with the station that a water expert in Thailand first observed a 70-centimeter drop in the Mekong’s water level on Monday and posted the news on social media and notified the center. . The center informed the Mekong River Commission of the situation and posted a warning message on social media, while China issued a notice on Tuesday that the Jinghong dam was lowering its discharge capacity.
China is damming up the upper Mekong River to make trouble with its neighbors.
According to Ai Bo’s analysis, water restrictions in the upper Mekong River will have the greatest impact on fishing activities in the Golden Triangle region, where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet. The sudden drop in water levels will affect the growth of fish stocks, and if fish populations drop as a result, it will affect not only the ecological diversity in the river, but also the ability of fishermen to sustain their livelihoods. In the Golden Triangle region, there are hundreds of communities that depend on river fisheries.
Regarding China’s proposed water restriction because of maintenance of the transmission lines of the upstream dam, Eber said the reason “needs more explanation” because from an engineering point of view, the transmission lines are not the core part of the dam and there is no need for water restriction when maintaining the transmission lines.
Dr. Wang Weiluo, a water expert living in Germany, said in an interview with the station that unlike the way Europe handles the issue of water resources in transnational rivers, China has not signed international agreements with downstream countries on the use of water resources in the Mekong River basin, so “China can be said to be in a state of lawlessness when it comes to the use of water in international rivers.” Wang said that the Communist Party’s attitude on this issue has been to emphasize that it is a matter of Chinese sovereignty and that “China has the final say.
Wang analyzed that the lower Mekong River is a monsoon climate zone and its water source in winter depends on the Mekong River, so when China reduces the amount of water in the upper reaches of the Mekong River, it will have an impact on the lower reaches. Able also said that China’s choice to restrict water in winter this time is unusual.
Wang said the U.S. has set up the Mekong Dam Monitor, which allows the basin to be monitored by satellite, and has become an “ally” with the lower Mekong countries on this issue, making information on the Mekong’s water flow public and no longer at the discretion of the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, “so that China has no excuse.
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