Regional Cooperation and Integration in the Mekong Region

Abstract

Over the past two decades, several regional cooperation programs were initiated by multilateral and bilateral donors to address concerns about the development gap in the Mekong subregion. Programs such as the Greater Mekong Subregion program of the Asian Development Bank and the Mekong–Japan Cooperation program focused first on improving physical connectivity through transport corridors, regional power development and grid connection, and telecommunications linkages, and were successful. However, as transport and trade facilitation became a priority, the weak institutional capacity of Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Vietnam resulted in a slow progress and is a major challenge to regional cooperation. Other challenges are the pressure on the use of Mekong water resources and the planned construction of mainstream dams, which could threaten the Mekong River Commission's role, the regional rivalry for energy sources, and the lack of attention to unskilled labor issues. The relations between Mekong regional cooperation programs and China are also a main issue to address if cooperation programs are not to become instruments of geopolitical rivalry.