China opposes ‘malicious provocation’ over water row

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December 15, 2020

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China opposes ‘malicious provocation’ over water row

Source: Agencies | 00:00 UTC+8 December 15, 2020 |

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CHINA welcomes constructive advice on water resources but opposes “malicious provocation,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said yesterday, after a US-funded project using satellites to track and publish water levels at Chinese dams on the Mekong river was announced.

The 4,350km waterway, known as the Lancang in China, flows south through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Wang said the upstream hydropower stations have played their full role in adjusting the water flow.

“Since the construction of hydropower stations along the Lancang River, the reservoirs store water in the flood season for later use in the dry season, which has effectively prevented the drastic fluctuation of the discharge flow,” he said.

But some researches accuse Chinese dams of retaining water to the detriment of downstream nations. The Mekong Dam Monitor, part-funded by the US State Department, uses data from cloud-piercing satellites to track levels of dams in China and other countries. The information will be open for everyone in near real-time from today.

A separate indicator of “surface wetness” is to show which parts of the region are wetter or drier than usual: a guide to how much natural flows are being affected by the dams.

China and Mekong countries have in recent years overcome external “noise and interference” to push forward cooperation on water resources, said Wang when asked about the project.

Since last month, China has started providing Lancang River’s hydrological data with the Mekong countries and an information sharing platform of Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation was put in operation recently. The six countries also share major operation of hydropower stations and relevant data with each other.

Wang said Lancang-Mekong River water resources cooperation continued to achieve substantial results.

“China will unswervingly advance Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation and make greater contribution to the six countries’ joint response to drought and flood and promotion of sustainable development,” he said.

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China opposes ‘malicious provocation’ over water row

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