Vietnamese plea to Thailand: Don't divert the Mekong

[Srikcir]

"Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha voiced plans to use water from the Mekong and Salween rivers to fill dams that have run low"

This sounds like a job for the Director of the Northern Royal Rainmaking Operation Center, Miss Nuengruethai Tantiplubthong. Her rainmaking efforts have received praise from Prayut for operations to replenish the amount of water in major reservoirs.

Surely the cost to increase the number of rainmaking flights necessary to fill Meking area dams will be insignificant compared to the cost of more dams and environmental destruction of the rivers.

[IAMHERE]

On the bright side...if Vietnam went to war and won..at least Thailand would have better management...

Vietnam would not win; China would see that their friend Thailand would win any war with Vietnam. China would also take the opportunity to secure Vietnam's rights to the South China Sea as well as a goodly portion of the shared border.

[FangFerang]

Wars get started over stupid decisions like this.

Please make a note of it.

[IAMHERE]

I don't think Thailand should take any of the water that flows into the Mekong that falls to the ground in Vietnam.

[NickJ]

My Dad was a big whig with the power company in Ca. He always laughed and said the Colorado river should be damned and prodce power. Rather than let it flow so a few people could raft down it. Thos was thirty years ago.

Both Thailand and Vietnam need to figure out what works for both countries.

[PatOngo]

cHINA TAKE WHAT THEY LIKE AND WANT;

PUT A SHIT ON EVERY COMPLAINT,

the water is not from Vietnam - the most -

so why shoud Thailand not take also their part;

PM Prayouth go ahead !!

Take the amount what belongs honestly to Thailand;

Voietnam Cry that get salt water in the river,

this is of that the sea level is rising,

and all countries which have river to the sea facing same problems !!

They speak better English in Vietnam.

[TechnikaIII]

A very bad Isreali-style idea.

He cites poor water management as being part of Thailand's problem?

So .... Prime Minister Prayut Clinging-onto-power Chan-o-cha , .... fix the poor management, or consider stepping down so that someone else can?

( I am allowed to voice such an honest view on this precious forum? )

[TechnikaIII]

cHINA TAKE WHAT THEY LIKE AND WANT;

PUT A SHIT ON EVERY COMPLAINT,

the water is not from Vietnam - the most -

so why shoud Thailand not take also their part;

PM Prayouth go ahead !!

Take the amount what belongs honestly to Thailand;

Voietnam Cry that get salt water in the river,

this is of that the sea level is rising,

and all countries which have river to the sea facing same problems !!

"Take the amount what belongs honestly to Thailand;"

It should be:

"MANAGE the amount what belongs honestly to Thailand, without ruining neighboring Vietnam."

[elgordo38]

Neighbors? What neighbors?

Every man for himself syndrome. Who controls the Mekong water before it hits Thailand not China?

[elgordo38]

Amazing! Thailand is the first to cry foul about recent and proposed dam building from its upstream "neighbor" (China), and now plans to divert water at the expense of those downstream.

The lifeboat is getting smaller all the time.

[elgordo38]

The drought would be over long before any diversion project could be completed.

The current drought, yes.

But what about the next one, and the next one?

The cycle of drought and flooding never seems to stop in Thailand.

Also add out of control building and the increasing tourist numbers(well according to TAT anyways) and you have a receipt for disaster.

[elgordo38]

Not to mention Thailand's construction of dams in the Mekong main stream in Laos like Xayabouri which was in violation of the Mekong Commission agreement and World Bank guidelines. More are on the way.

Treaties are worthless pieces of paper like fiat money. Drum rolls much fan fare and photo-ops and then zip they are gone and forgotten. Primeval instinct comes first at the top of the list. Love and caring for your fellow man at the bottom or on the back. Another classic future example will be the Iranian nuclear pact. After America returns all their billions and rolls back the sanctions the Iraqi's will thumb their nose at them. Watched a good movie called Rosewater shows you how the Iraqi's operate. Its based on a true story.

[Fullstop]

ASEAN ... An empty "for show" joke ... apparently.

[MyFriend You]

Until several years ago, the Mekong was one of the very few large rivers in the world which had never been dammed. China has built half of their eight large dams, and probably have more on the drawing boards. Incidentally, China is not a signatory to the Mekong River Commission. Perhaps it thinks it's too big and important to be bothered with a silly little Commission like that. More likely, it simply doesn't want to listen to issues voiced by little countries to its south.

If you care about the Mekong, take a trip along part of its course. It's a cool river, with rocky outcrops along most of its length. Already, many of those rocks are being blasted to enable barges easier float lanes. Amazing fish species (including giant stingrays and river dolphins) have disappeared lately. It's a dying river. Asians are not doing a good enough job of maintaining its majesty. Are they not able? Do they not give a damn? Actions speak louder than words. ......and then there's the Salween coursing down on Thailand's west side. That river is also being screwed, largely thanks to the biggest boy on the block: China.

Bomb the Chinese dams, then Laos, Thailand, Cammbodia & little Vietnam will have all the water they could possibly use.................

[MaxLee]

Will fall on deaf ears..........

[Barry Friedman]

The plan is clearly flawed, but I do wonder why the Vietnamese have made no such complaints to China - a country that has built quite a few dams along the Mekong in their own land and in Laos.

And I also think the Thai Government has forgotten the 1995 Mekong Agreement among Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam stipulated that the countries would consult each other before beginning any project with significant impact on the river, and it established the Mekong River Commission to oversee that process.

[sgtsabai]

The 1995 Mekong Agreement was forgotten as soon as it was signed. Thailand's "military" couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. They are no match for Vietnam and certainly no match for China, who made a mistake in invading Vietnam back in the 80's and got sent home with their tails between their legs. China does have a better navy than Vietnam so on the sea, Vietnam can't beat them, but Vietnam is making friends, or vice versa, with the US and Japan. Many are predicting that future wars will be fought over water (not just oil) and I'm afraid that Thailand will be on the short end of the stick there, dumping the US for China. Thailand, soon to be another vassal state of China like Lao.

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed. This is not about the Colorado River or California's water crisis.

[mikemac]

Considering where the Mekong starts, the countries that border it, and where it ends, it is a wonder there is any water in it at all.

The attitude of all countries concerned is the same as their attitude towards fish-stocks and forestry - grab what I can, when I can.