The Mekong rose dramatically yesterday (Wednesday) when China discharged a huge amount of water into Southeast Asia’s longest river. The Mekong River Commission (MRC), an international regulating agency, announced on Monday it had received “emergency notification” from China, a dialogue partner to the MRC, that water would bedischarged from the Jinghong Reservoir in a bid to ensurepower-grid security. The discharge began at 504 cubic metres per second on Tuesday, gradually increasing to 2,200m3/s yesterday, according to the MRC. The agency established in 1995 is the only inter-governmental organisation representing the four lower Mekong nations – Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. With its tardy advance notification, Beijing appears to be doing the least it can to be a good neighbour on the Mekong.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 01, 2017 18:11 UTC