Thread: Environment activists protest against China’s reefs blasting in the Mekong river

Harbor Dept clarifies Development Plan for International Navigation in the Lancang-Mekong River

BANGKOK, 8 May 2017 (NNT) – The Harbor Department, Ministry of Transport, has clarified four issues on the Development Plan for International Navigation in the Lancang-Mekong River.

1.The government has confirmed that it has not decided to adjust the rapids and islets at the moment, and confirms that the survey conducted by Chinese authorities is in accordance with the agreement. The government will then provide an opportunity for the general public to voice their opinions, before the cabinet will consider project implementation.

2. For control on the use of water from the Mekong River, which is an international river, there will be a joint committee consisting of members from many countries and many groups working to ensure equal benefits for relevant countries. No country will be allowed to have complete control over the use of water from Mekong River.

3. There is currently no obvious information on the impacts from blasting the islet in the upper Golden Triangle, but the study will be carefully conducted and the findings will be carefully analyzed before the results will be announced.

4. The meeting between the governor, the consul general, provincial commerce office heads, and businessmen of Chiang Rai and the representatives of the Chinese government and private sectors on 20 April 2017 was aimed at strengthening cooperation on economic, trade, investment and tourism between southern China and Thailand.

http://nwnt.prd.go.th/CenterWeb/News....m0Qb4GWg.dpuf

Well that's OK then

Comes down to: government/corporate profits, suppression and control.

Way of the world, as that's the manner in which we've become accustomed to.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Originally Posted by crackerjack101

Well that's OK then

As i suggested this is the start of a fact collecting phase. A requirement to choose correctly. Rather than the preconceived worries the media have punched into the normally sleepy, self feeding inhabitants of a Thai riverbank.

A storm in a tea cup so far.

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Comes down to: government/corporate profits, suppression and control. Way of the world, as that's the manner in which we've become accustomed to.

The results would end up like you describe if the western rape and pillage system was adopted. Fortunately some Asian countries are starting to realise they may be an alternative.

It is as others have said if it is "too early to say" whether the proposed alternative will bear fruit, or in this case, fish eggs for all.

Ok. Fairly enough said....
Guess, we'll see before long.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Originally Posted by fishlocker

We need to preserve and protect what is left that is not already screwed up by the man

If you want your cleaned environment, you can keep and live in your manicured environment. If you can find a job, an affordable house, pay your employment and housing taxes, feed and clothe your family........

Yes that a good idea. Maybe all the empires which made their gold by polluting the world for the past centuries would care to share it with the rest of humanity, rather than filling their dungeons with quality wines and cheeses.

When a new kid on the block arrives the world suddenly needs to take care of the environment. Nothing to do with keeping the new kid in his place, keeping him bare foot and a willing slave, oh no.

so I take it that they should be allowed to go on their Merry way and fork up the Mehkong like they've done to a lot of their own country because of the naughty gwai lo in the past. Those greedy westerners the world would be such a better place if they hadn't existed. After all what have they done for us.

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

so I take it that they should be allowed to go on their Merry way and fork up the Mehkong

Try and read what I do post here, rather than what you imagine.

Currently the Mekong River countries have agreed to a survey of the river. One from the French many years ago decided that it was impossible to use as a commercial link from the South China Sea into southern Chinese provinces and countries bordering the river. I don't know if there have been any other "surveys" for many many years, you may and if so please post a link.

The countries are investigating if the river route is viable for their needs. What the countries needs are, I imagine, have not been set in concrete to my knowledge. I presume once the physical survey is completed the countries will discus the costs and benefits of a range of possibilities.

An environmental study has yet to be started, I would presume the effect on the lives of any displaced people would be considered, along withe the development potential to all - commercial, defense, citizens expectations.

To identify what is happening on the river today is an essential part of a journalist. To hype up possibly fake news is irresponsible and can hurt people.

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

Those greedy westerners the world would be such a better place if they hadn't existed. After all what have they done for us.

The Romans, as you illustrate created the necessary for their own use/exploitation etc. Similar to all empires. Some positive but recently mostly negative to a large number of the global population and increasingly so violently.

Which countries are spending large amounts of their citizens wealth on improving their living environments? China, from as you say a low point, are one that is, care to name others who are spending money today? Which countries historically have raped and plundered a foreign countries resources without any regard to the citizens and environment?

China and it's Asian partners are spending vast sums of money in what they say are win/win projects. What western countries are offering that model as opposed to the bullying, fear, death, environmental pollution ..... model currently or going forward?

It is too early to judge what China and it's partners will do. It is common knowledge what western countries do when they have the chance.

That is what the western countries and their vassal are afraid of, the realisation of the global population that their is an alternative.

China wants to dynamite the Mekong River to increase trade - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Originally Posted by crackerjack101

China wants to dynamite the Mekong River to increase trade - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Akin to the old Chinese tribute system.

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Akin to the old Chinese tribute system.

Let's hope it remains as benign as back in the day when Thailand was a favored vassal state. Things are much more complicated now than back in the 7th century.

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Akin to the old Chinese tribute system.

Let's hope it remains as benign as back in the day when Thailand was a favored vassal state. Things are much more complicated now than back in the 7th century.

Indeed....

Local Activists in Chiang Rai Protest Against Blasting of Mekong River



CHIANG RAI – A group of activists in the northern province of Chiang Rai on Monday conducted a peaceful protest against the presence of a Chinese vessel assigned to conduct a study along the Mekong River.

The activists and groups championing the Mekong ecosystem have stated that they believe the study would lead to the blasting of rapids in the river to facilitate cargo navigation in favour of China.

At about 9am, activist networks from Chiang Saen, Chiang Khong and Wieng Kaen met at Pa Pra View Point, with some of them boarding long-tail boats and displaying placards and “love water” flags in the middle of the river.

On the land, representatives of local residents discussed the importance of protecting the Mekong River.

Activists then read the “Chiang Khong” declaration calling for the protection of the river before boarding a boat to display placards near where the Chinese survey vessel was docked.

Local Activists in Chiang Rai Protest Against Blasting of Mekong River | Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper

Thai resistance to China’s downstream ambitions


A Chinese boat with a team of geologists surveys the Mekong River at the border between Laos and Thailand on April 23, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Jorge Silva


China’s plan to blast rocks and islets to improve downstream navigation along the Mekong River represents the latest Beijing-led scheme to facilitate stronger trade ties to Southeast Asia.

While regional governments have generally welcomed Chinese investment in trade-promoting infrastructure, there is strong and rising grass roots resistance in Thailand to its controversial plans for the Mekong.

Three Chinese ships with a reported 60 engineers on board commenced a survey on April 19th under the direction of China’s CCCC Second Harbor Consultant Co Ltd, a subsidiary of state-owned conglomerate China Communications.

The engineers are probing all impediments to navigation along a 96-kilometer stretch along the Mekong River between Thailand and Laos, from the Thai riparian town of Chiang Saen south towards the Thai border town of Chiang Khong.

China has set out to tame the same roaring rapids and rocky islets of the Mekong that repeatedly thwarted the ambitions of French colonial explorers to open a new trading route. Those 19th century plans foundered on the rapids and the waterfalls of Si Phan Don in southern Laos bordering Cambodia.

One Chinese engineer involved in the clearing commented said his team sees their work as part of China’s “One Belt, One Road” multinational infrastructure drive that aims to make China a global trade hub, according to media reports. However, China’s plan to improve downstream navigation predates the grand global initiative.

By 2020, China plans to remove all natural obstacles to engineering a safe 890-kilometer shipping lane stretching from the southern Yunnan province port of Simao, through Thailand’s northern stretch of the river, to the ancient royal Lao capital and now tourism hub of Luang Prabang.

Opposition protests, however, represent a mounting challenge to that downstream plan.

MORE Thai resistance to China's downstream ambitions | Asia Times

Originally Posted by crackerjack101

China wants to dynamite the Mekong River to increase trade - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Some quotes from your link:

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

"It will expand the river trade route from China's Yunan province, through Thailand to Luang Prabang in Laos.Mr Niwat is one of many locals who says there is nothing in it for Thailand.
"The only group that will benefit from this is China … the boats are Chinese boats, the products are Chinese products," he said."

Normally a transportation link requires goods/people to be moved up as well as down river.

I'm sure Mr. Niwat has seen the numbers of what benefits the new trade link will bring all the countries to be touched by it. Somehow he fails to recognise them. Will all the touched countries governments be similarly blinded?

He may wish to peruse the numbers of products shipped from just Thailand to China. I know one industry, agriculture, where the demand for Thai fruits continues to expand on an annual basis. Well based on government figures.


He has a very limited knowledge base and a limited audience.

From the 2003 survey.

"Back then, experts from Monash University were given the job of reviewing the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and called it "fundamentally flawed".
Conservationists said the assessment was based on just two days' fieldwork."


Possibly a reason for the new project survey, EIA and procedures so as not to mislead anyone!!


"I think this is one of the inherent tensions in the river's development, the fact that on the one hand there are these plans for trade but on the other hand the Mekong is a living river upon which millions of people depend," Mr Middleton said."

The tensions are being generated by some who wish the project stopped prior to receiving "unbiased" evidence.


Some who live adjacent to the river will have their lives changed. For the better of for the worse, nobody knows.



Lets all get out our dug outs and vegetable clothes and to hell with progress. Is that what you want. Or possibly some cute tourist outlets with a few betel juiced grandmas doing a bit of hand loom weaving and their semi naked teen daughters modelling for the "tourists. Just leave a big tip when you leave mahsa.


Dig up the roads, saddle up the elephants and stop moving for 6 months of the year because of the impassable jungle tracks. And keep that jungle virginal, the counties daughters, well not so much.

Chinese Surveyor Says Mekong Clearance Will Only Destroy ‘a Few Islets’

CHIANG RAI – The Chinese firm commissioned to conduct a survey of the Mekong River has insisted only a few islets and reefs in international waters will be blasted so large cargo ships can navigate their way through in the dry season.


Ling Leehua, president of CCCC Second Harbour Consultants Co Ltd, which won the concession from Beijing to conduct the survey, said only those islets obstructing the route would be removed, with some shallow sections of the river also being dredged.


The firm will choose the method that inflicts the smallest negative impact on local people’s livelihoods as well as the environment, Mr Leehua said.


He made the remark Wednesday during the seventh public hearing on the project to improve the navigation channel in the Mekong River, also known as the Lan Chang River, held at the Chiang Khong district office in Chiang Rai.


The event was attended by 60 members of the Chiang Khong Conservation Group, led by key member Niwat Roikaew and Chiang Khong district chief Thatsanai Suthapoj.


Mr Leehua said the project was meant to address problems during the dry season when river levels drop substantially, impeding boats.


According to the company’s surveys over the last 17 years, some 15 sections of the waterway in Thai territory hinder navigation. Vessels carrying cargo weighing more than 450 tonnes can sail through those areas at other times of year but not during the dry season.


Mr Leehua said the operation was in line with a deal signed by Thailand, China, Laos and Myanmar in 2000.


However, the project may be halted for financial or other reasons, he said.


Mr Niwat said the company should inform villagers of the islet-blasting plan and another to build six dams on the Mekong in China. Both schemes are expected to damage the river’s ecosystem while the dams could adversely affect water tides.


Mr Niwat asked why large vessels were required when they could unload at two upstream piers in Chiang Saen district, making the blasting work unnecessary. Highway R3A was another option, he said.


Chinese Surveyor Says Mekong Clearance Will Only Destroy ?a Few Islets? | Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper

I wonder how Vietnam feels about Chinese boats bobbing up towards the Mekong delta?
It's not like VN has no influence over Cambo and Laos; they must feel the potential for encirclement.
Burma isn't always too keen on any frequent Chinese presence near Kokang either.

red posters warning of unexploded mines were stuck around the place.
I've got one in my garage.

Fark, you should call out the UXO guys to defuse it

Mekong subregion members meet over river blasting concerns

BANGKOK, 19 December 2017 (NNT) – A meeting of the foreign ministers under a Mekong-Lancang Cooperation agreement has addressed environmental concerns over the blasting in the international river.

Thailand's Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai who attended the MLC meeting in China said that it is preceding a visit of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to Cambodia in January 2018.

The meeting has addressed the concerns regarding the blasting of Mekong River by the Chinese supposedly to accommodate cargo ships plying the international river. Such blasts have occurred for 17 years in spite of international concerns over the environment, livelihood of local villagers and possible border disputes.

China has acknowledged the concerns from Thailand and Laos and pledged to revise its river-blasting operations to minimize adverse effects.

http://nwnt.prd.go.th/CenterWeb/News...L6012190010019

Chiang Rai’s Chiang Khong Residents Fear China Will Proceed with Blasting Rapid on Mekong River

The group Raksa Chiang Khong, representing Chiang Rai residents, said opposition to the project was made clear at public hearings last year and there was no need to hold more hearings next month



CHIANG RAI – Residents living along the Mekong River in Chiang Rai’s Chiang Khong district have expressed strong opposition to a “new” public hearing on China’s plans to blast away a stretch of rapids, saying there was no need for more talk about the proposal, which they would not tolerate.


China wants to eliminate the rapids in the river to accommodate boat movement from Jinghing to Luang Prabang in Laos.
Thai citizens fear the project would affect the fragile river ecosystem and their livelihoods.


Some blasting has been done in the past, and in 2016 the Thai government approved a feasibility study and design for more such work.

MORE https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chian...ong-river.html

China scraps plan to blow up Mekong River islets, says Thai minister

China has agreed to drop a plan to clear rocky outcrops and islets in the upper reaches of the Mekong River over deep concerns from downstream countries, Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said on Friday.



Don said the issue was discussed and agreed during last month’s visit to Bangkok by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who accepted the concerns from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar about potential negative effects of the proposed blasting.












“The blasts aimed at paving the way for big vessels would affect people’s way of life and also fish in the river,” Don said. “We proposed to China that it is unnecessary to blast the islets in the river and our Chinese counterpart accepted with a good understanding.”



Don said that aside from ecological effects, blasting could also change the course of the key river that flows from China toward the South China Sea, passing five Southeast Asian countries on its way – possibly affecting borderlines.



He said there are now better ways to transport products from China into the Mekong countries.



The plan to blast rapids in the upper reaches of the Mekong to allow for the smooth passage of large cargo vessels was approved by concerned countries, including Thailand in December 2016.




But it has been delayed due to the opposition from locals and environment groups.



The Mekong, which also flows through Cambodia and Vietnam, is recognised as Southeast Asia’s main water artery, upon which local residents of the six countries depend on for many things, including fishing, irrigation, transport and tourism.








https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south...lets-says-thai

HOORAY...........................

Yes, just wait for the election, then there will be new people to pay off.

....and now we can work on dismantling the dams.

Originally Posted by misskit

The plan to blast rapids in the upper reaches of the Mekong to allow for the smooth passage of large cargo vessels was approved by concerned countries, including Thailand in December 2016.




But it has been delayed due to the opposition from locals and environment groups.

The plan included a survey and all agreeing the results indicating a solution were acceptable to all. This agreed procedure has been carried through and the acceptance was not forthcoming. As such all are moving on to other solutions, will they be better, who knows.

Originally Posted by misskit

2. For control on the use of water from the Mekong River, which is an international river, there will be a joint committee consisting of members from many countries and many groups working to ensure equal benefits for relevant countries. No country will be allowed to have complete control over the use of water from Mekong River.

And what about the various dams upstream which China has built on territory it owns or has acquired ?