Abstract
Subject The outlook for China/US competition in the Mekong. Significance The United States is expanding its Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI). Additionally, the Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM), a US-led donor coordination group, brings international organisations and Washington's European and Asian allies into the LMI orbit. However, in early March, China approached the Lower Mekong river region countries with a proposal for an equivalent Beijing-led institution, binding these and China closer economically and politically. Impacts China's Mekong scheme could indirectly cause further Thai civil society crackdowns. Mekong development frictions would hamper achieving ASEAN unity. Mekong countries will try to leverage China-US geopolitical competition for their development needs.
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