“They’re very wary of the monks getting together,” Chantal Elkin, a program manager for The Alliance of Religions and Conservation, told Sojourners. “Forest activism is [seen as] a threat to the government.”
Category: Mekong
Operation Mekong: China Solidifies Its Influence in Southeast Asia
China’s leadership now breaks with its decades-old doctrine of not getting involved in other countries’ political crises.
Mekong Institute partners with China and Thailand on managing Mekong dams
The project is geared toward collaborative information exchange among concerned agencies in Cambodia, P.R. China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, with emphasis on adaptive management and operation of hydropower projects as well as climate change mitigation.
Mining in the Mekong: Myanmar to outperform, Thailand to underperform
The Mekong region boasts rich mineral deposits, yet foreign investment flows are expected to remain low due to political uncertainty, resource nationalisation sentiment and poor infrastructure.
Will new technologies help or harm developing countries?
Technology reduces developing countries’ comparative advantage in traditionally labor-intensive manufacturing (and other) activities, and decreases their gains from trade.
Tokyo goes it alone in support of Myanmar and Cambodia
Japan is digging in deeper in support of Myanmar and Cambodia even as the U.S. and Europe ramp up criticism of human rights violations, choosing to preserve its influence in the region by playing an alternative to China’s economic might.
Who Controls the Tap? Addressing Water Security in Asia
China has also dammed and now controls the flow of the Mekong River; complaints about the Mekong have been muffled, partially because China has little to fear from these smaller countries.
Defending China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Don’t fear Western “debt-trap diplomacy” accusations, as Chinese funding comes with no political strings attached.
Japan and Mekong nations to push 150 Southeast Asia projects
As for the ODA projects, dubbed “Tokyo Strategy 2018,” they will focus on three main areas — effective connectivity, people-centered societies as well as environment and disaster management.”
New US Agency Offers Asian Countries Development Finance Alternative to China: Experts
The US$60 billion, Washington-based Global Innovation Fund, is a U.S. effort “to more directly compete with China in these developing countries.”