China announces water discharge to downstream Mekong River

To deal with the drought, China decided to use the Jinghong hydroelectric dam to supplement water for the lower Mekong River region.

The drought in An Giang province is caused by the Mekong River being "blocked" in the upper reaches (photo: Thanh Nien)

Yesterday (March 15), the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that the Chinese government has decided to release water from the Jinghong Hydropower Dam in Yunnan Province, China, to the lower Mekong River basin. This activity will be carried out from March 15 to April 10, 2016.

Speaking at a regular press conference in Beijing on March 15, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang said that due to the influence of the El Nino phenomenon, countries in the Lancang-Mekong River basin are suffering from severe drought, greatly affecting people's lives.

To cope with the drought, the Chinese government decided from March 15 to April 10 to use the Jinghong hydroelectric dam to supplement water for the lower Mekong River region.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, China hopes to work with five ASEAN countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, to build a Lancang-Mekong cooperation mechanism, in which effective exploitation of water resources is one of the important cooperation contents.

“China hopes that within the framework of the Lancang-Mekong cooperation mechanism, relevant countries will strengthen exchanges and coordination on water resources management and disaster response, and enhance substantive cooperation. We hope that this will bring many benefits to the people of the countries along the Lancang-Mekong River,” said Mr. Lu Kang.

The section of the Mekong River that passes through China is called Lancang, on which China has built many large hydroelectric dams, which regularly affect the flow and water volume of the downstream area of ​​the river.

China and the five lower Mekong countries have established many cooperation mechanisms to effectively use water resources as well as develop the Mekong River region's economy, such as the Mekong River Commission, the Greater Mekong Subregion Cooperation, and most recently the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation mechanism.

The first Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Summit will take place in Hainan, China at the end of March with the participation of the Chinese Prime Minister and senior leaders of the five ASEAN countries./.

According to VOV