Koh: "China's behaviour is unacceptable"
Koh's comment was made in response to a
post by retired diplomat Bilahari Kausikan, in which he shared an
article from
The Third Pole, a site that looks at water issues in Asia.
The article, first published on
China Dialogue, talks about how Cambodia is facing problems with Chinese hydropower dams upstream that contributed partly to the "record droughts" in the Mekong region in 2019 -- the worst the region had experienced in a century.
Such water policies have also put a strain on the ecosystem of the Tonle Sap River, the article claimed.
Koh also added that China's behaviour is "unacceptable".
Screengrab via
Bilahari Kausikan/FB
The 4,350km Mekong River runs through six countries.
Starting from China, it flows past Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, before joining the South China Sea through Vietnam.
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Asean should talk to China as dams dry up Lower Mekong, behaviour 'unacceptable': Tommy Koh
China has rejected claims that it contributed to the droughts in 2019.
Kayla Wong|
April 30, 10:23 AM
Asean should take up the issue of Chinese dams in the Mekong river contributing to severe droughts in downstream countries, Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh suggested in a Facebook comment on Wednesday, April 29.
Koh: "China's behaviour is unacceptable"
Koh's comment was made in response to a
post by retired diplomat Bilahari Kausikan, in which he shared an
article from
The Third Pole, a site that looks at water issues in Asia.
The article, first published on
China Dialogue, talks about how Cambodia is facing problems with Chinese hydropower dams upstream that contributed partly to the "record droughts" in the Mekong region in 2019 -- the worst the region had experienced in a century.
Such water policies have also put a strain on the ecosystem of the Tonle Sap River, the article claimed.
Koh also added that China's behaviour is "unacceptable".
Screengrab via
Bilahari Kausikan/FB
The 4,350km Mekong River runs through six countries.
Starting from China, it flows past Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, before joining the South China Sea through Vietnam.
Can Asean stand against China?
Asean has been criticised for failing to stand in unity against China, in light of the economic influence the latter wields over countries such as Cambodia.
For instance, for the first time in its history, the Southeast Asian grouping
failed to issue a joint statement at its 45th Asean Ministerial in 2012, due to Cambodia's objection to the inclusion of the South China Sea issue in the final communiqué.
New findings claim China's holding back water from downstream countries in Mekong
According to
Reuters, new findings from a study revealed that Chinese dams (Lancang dams) had held back the flow of large volumes of water from downstream countries during the drought, even though China had received unusually high levels of rain.
China rejects findings
China's government has since refuted the findings, saying they did not contribute to the drought, and attributing the phenomenon to low rainfall during last year's monsoon season on its portion of the river.
The explanation, however, was rejected by the American research company who conducted the study.
They said that satellite measurements of "surface wetness" in China's Yunnan province suggest the area had a combined rainfall and snowmelt that is higher than average during the May to October wet season.
Water levels downstream, on the other hand, were at times up to three metres lower than they should have been, the study concluded.
April 30, 10:23 AM
