- By Pooky, Thai Intel’s economics journalist
Xinhua, the Chinese news agency just reported that Japan has pledged US$7 billion USD in aid to Mekong region in next 3 year and Thailand expects over US$2 billion China investment as a result of a recent trip to China by Yingluck.
That is a great deal of money going to the Mekong river region and Thailand. But the region is threatened to be clogged up by dams, displacing people, harming the environment and destroying small communities.
- With so much money earmarked for “Development” the end to dams building, perhaps, has been put on the back burner of urgent issues to be resolved, as money, often means “progress.” Thailand in fact, has approved of a controverseal dam, Xayaburi Dam in Lao. As for Thailand itself, it had also approved of a construction of a dam in Thailand.
The Mekong river is a major trading route linking China’s southwestern province of Yunnan to the South China Sea via Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and provides local’s with an invaluable outlet to the sea and international trading.
- Every time I think of the Xayaburi Dam, on the Mekong river, I think of the movie “Deliverance.
Deliverance is about a Dam built against the Great Mississippi River, slowly filling up. Against that slowly filling up dam, a group of city dwellers, on adventurers, went to do a river canoe ride on the rivers, for one of the last opportunity to do so, as the lake kills the river. Deliverance is not exactly without violence, like Mekong, it can get violent at times.
- Wikipedia reports that the Xayaburi Dam hydroelectric dam on the Lower Mekong River was recently approved by the government of Thailand, and construction should commence soon.
However, the Xayaburi dam, according to International Rivers, around 2,100 people would be resettled, and more than 202,000 people living in the dam’s area would suffer impacts due to the loss of agricultural land and riverbank gardens.
- Wikipwdia summarizes that a Strategic Environmental Assessment commissioned by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) recommends a 10-year deferral of all Mekong mainstream dams in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, and calls for further studies.[9] According to a MRC spokeswoman construction of the Xayaburi dam “will result in irreversible environmental impacts”.[13]
The constructioin of dams aside, Thailand’s prime minister, Yingluck, is currently in Japan for a meeting on the Mekong River Basin Development, with Yingluck proposing an education effort to help small to medium enterprise in the basin able to compete, in the rapidly changing business environment.
MCOT reports:
TOKYO, April 21 — Thailand has pledged full support to Japan as a strategic partner in the sustainable co-development of the Mekong River delta to strengthen economies of the countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), according to Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Ms Yingluck, at a joint press conference with leaders of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Japan after the 4th Mekong-Japan Summit, said that the summit was considered an important mechanism to boost regional economic strength.
The 4th Mekong-Japan Summit was held in Tokyo which, along with Ms Yingluck, was attended by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavo, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein and chaired by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
Ms Yingluck said that Thailand has always supported neighbouring countries and development in the GMS, and would like to propose joint Thai-Japanese development projects for the expansion of cooperation on East-West Economic Corridor and Southern Economic Corridor developments to be a genuine economic corridor and be able to respond to risks from flood and other natural disasters in the future.
As for the Southern Economic Corridor, the Thai premier has invited Japan to support and participate in the development of the Dawei deep sea port in Myanmar as Thailand would allocate a budget for the construction of a highway to link Bangkok with the Thai-Myanmar border provinces, which would eventually connect the route between the Andaman Sea and South China Sea under the Southern Economic Corridor.
Yet, again, as Yingluck focus on Mekong SMEs and “Economic Corridors” Thailand has approved the Lao Xayaburi dam, where a Thai contractor was just signed a contract, for about a US$400 million, to build the Xayaburi dam, after years of objection. And in Thailand itself, again, a dam has just also been proposed.
- Like Xayaburi, environmentalist are objecting to the in Thailand dam construction.
At the heart of the question, with the dams, being the symbol, is the type of development, the mainland SE Asia region is pursuing. On one side is responsible sustainable development, on the other, as Thailand’s flooding showed, it is humankind against nature.
- Xinhua reports:
Updated: 2012-04-21 12:07:00
(Xinhua)
TOKYO, April 21 (Xinhua) — Japan on Saturday pledged to provide about 600 billion yen (about 7.37 billion U.S. dollars) in official assistance to five Mekong basin nations in the next three years to boost the region’s development.
The pledge was made during a summit in Tokyo between Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his counterparts from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
“Development and progress of the Mekong region is the key to development and stability in East Asia,” Noda said at the fourth Japan-Mekong summit.
Japanese media said, “Japan wants to bolster its profile in the resource-rich Mekong region as China, which borders the region and shares the Mekong River, continues to raise its presence there.”
The visiting leaders are Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, Myanmar President Thein Sein, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
- Xinhua also reports:
Over $2b China investment expected: Thai Industry Minister
Updated: 2012-04-20 09:35
(Xinhua)
BANGKOK – A recent roadshow of Thailand to China, during the Thai premier’s official trip, is expected to lead to investment in Thailand of over $2.1 billion, the Board of Investment (BoI) under Thailand’s Ministry of Industry said on Thursday.
Following the roadshow, it is expected that five large Chinese companies in automotive, machinery, food flavoring and real estate industries are soon to confirm their plans to make over $2.1 billion investment in Thailand.
At the same time, leading Thai businesses have signed business partnership agreement with Chinese partners, which will potentially lead to almost $2.36 billion investment in total, said Industry Minister Pongsvas Svasti.
The roadshow, held by the Thai government, took place in Beijing form April 17-20. It was part of the mission of the first official visit of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to China, during April 17-19, to foster Sino-Thai investments.
“Some of those companies have already decided to invest in Thailand. We expect to receive confirmation soon. Other companies are still studying the information, and we are strongly confident that Thailand can be their preferred investment destination.” the minister said as quoted in a BoI press release.
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