Title: The interaction between the Mekong River Commission and China : an analysis of hydropolitical dynamics on cooperation
Author: Jill Lawler
Year: 2006
Keywords: N/A
Theme: Environmental Politics and Policy
Advisor(s): Chantana Banpasirichote
The full thesis available here.
Abstract: River basins create hydrologic interdependencies that force States to negotiate their interests and national security within a regional context. A hydropolitical security complex emerges when States consider shared resources as a major national security issue. Changes within the political economy of the Mekong basin create new security issues as multiple interests complete for the Mekong’s shared resources. In particular, China has begun developing the upper portions of the Mekong River, which could change the quantity and quality of downstream flows and could impede other States’ ability to fulfill their national agendas vis-à-vis the Mekong. Placing China and the MRC within the context of a hydropolitical security complex, this research analyzes the current state of cooperation between the MRC and China. It looks at political, economic, and social factors that contribute to, or impinge, cooperation between China and the MRC. This study is derived from qualitative research, using a combination of documentary analysis and in-depth interviews with officials within the MRC Secretariat, former National Mekong Committee Members, and China’s UNESCAP division, as well as key informants close to the issue. These interviews supplemented information on cooperation between the MRC and China provided by several databases. The research findings show that China and the MRC are expanding technical cooperation in flood mitigation, with possibilities of further cooperation in navigation, tourism, and capacity building. Each State’s perception of tradeoffs and benefits determine the extent to which they cooperate over shared resources. States adapt their interests according to the specific economic, political, environmental, and social context of each state and of the basin as a whole. Increased economic integration between all riparian States, as well as growing regional involvement on the part of China, create areas for cooperation between China and the MRC within the Mekong basin. The Mekong River development has taken on a new interest for all parties and the manner in which cooperation is carried out has important implications for the MRC in terms of transboundary water governance, as well as for the basin as a whole.