VN Express —
Several researchers have reacted with skepticism and criticism to American experts’ suggestions of Mekong downstream countries paying China for water to avoid drought.
Some said it was not just impractical but also something that would set a “bad precedent.”
In mid-February, American experts, Alan Basist, Mekong Dam Monitor Co-Lead, and Brian Eyler, Southeast Asia Program Director, Stimson Center, had suggested at the virtual event “Where’s the Water: Mekong Dry Season 2022” hosted by the Stimson that countries in the Lower Mekong should try to reach an agreement to pay China for water releases during times of crises like droughts.
This way, downstream countries could use an insurance representative to assess the economic cost that China has when it releases water from dams and make financial contributions to create a fund that offsets the financial loss to China and ask Beijing to release water, they said.