Southeast Asian nations on the shrinking lower Mekong River began talks with China Sunday over fears that its dams are further depleting the waterway which is at its lowest levels in decades.
A Chinese delegation held talks in the Thai coastal town of Hua Hin ahead of a Monday meeting to be attended by Beijing's Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao and the prime ministers of Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Leaders are discussing management of the vast river, on which more than 60 million people depend, amid a crippling drought in the region and controversy surrounding the role of China's hydropower dams and fears over climate change.
"All the attention is on China, I think all the bilateral meetings that China's having... I think these are going to be extremely important," said summit organiser Jeremy Bird. The summit, the first to be organised by the inter-governmental Mekong River Commission (MRC) in its 15-year history, comes after the Mekong has shrivelled to its lowest level in 50 years in Laos and Thailand's north.
Bird, head of the MRC's secretariat, dismissed activists' concerns that dams were behind the water shortage, but representatives for the Southeast Asian countries said better river data was needed to allay fears.
"It's mostly (about) clarification on water levels. I think there's speculation that's all, suspicion," said Thai delegate Isra Sunthornvut. "We don't know the facts and we would like to know the facts," added Isra, an official in the Thai prime minister's office.
The Chinese embassy in Bangkok last week said China would "never do things that harm the interests of (lower Mekong) countries" and had agreed to share water level data from two dams during this dry season. But nations in the lower Mekong basin are likely to press China for further information as well as financial help, said Anond Snidvongs, director of the Southeast Asia START Regional Centre, which researches environmental change.
Leaders began arriving in Hua Hin on Sunday morning and were due to gather for a gala dinner ahead of Monday's meeting, where they will sign a joint declaration of their aims, said organisers. Myanmar will also participate as a dialogue partner at the top-level talks.
The MRC has warned that the health of the Mekong Basin and the river's eco-systems could be threatened by proposed dams and expanding populations. It says the dams, built to meet soaring demand for water and hydro-electricity, have been effective in releasing water during dry seasons and preventing flooding in rainy months.
Yet questions remain over the impact of the eight planned or existing dams on the mainstream river in China. Vice Minister of Water Resources Liu Ning said Wednesday more were needed to guarantee water and food security, while 12 dams in lower Mekong countries have also been proposed. Thailand has invoked a tough security law and has deployed thousands of troops in Hua Hin to ensure protesters do not disrupt the summit, in light of mass anti-government "Red Shirt" rallies in Bangkok since mid-March.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has left Bangkok to attend the Hua Hin meetings. A year ago, regional leaders were forced to abandon a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) due to protests.