China's refusal to sign binding water-sharing agreements on the Mekong contrasts sharply with its cooperative treaties with Kazakhstan and Mongolia, a Mizzima News report states. While Beijing manages the Irtysh and Ili rivers through joint commissions to protect Xinjiang's security and industry, it keeps Mekong cooperation voluntary, using unilateral dam operations for hydropower and geopolitical leverage over five downstream nations.
The nearly 4,900-km river supports over 60 million people, but unpredictable flows threaten Vietnam's rice production and Cambodia's fisheries. Declining sediment levels accelerate erosion and biodiversity loss. The report warns that distrust could destabilise ASEAN-China relations as intensifying droughts and floods turn the Mekong into a geopolitical fault line for livelihoods and food security.
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