Outsiders spread misgivings

The Sanya Declaration and a joint statement on capacity cooperation issued at the conclusion of the first leaders' meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation framework in Sanya, Hainan province in South China, on Wednesday are expected to act as the political guidelines and road map for sub-regional cooperation between China and the other countries concerned.

Strengthened cooperation among countries in the Lancang-Mekong River Valley and effective use of common water resources can strengthen regional ties. Yet they should be alert to intervention from other countries seeking to sow discord among them.

Ever since China proposed the mechanism in 2014, non-regional countries such as the United States and Japan have been trying to create such discord by suggesting that China is a major power that not only controls the upper reaches of the Mekong River, called the Lancang in China, but also possesses the economic and political power to dominate regional cooperation. Beijing, they claim, could influence the other parties to the regional cooperation mechanism and even seek to "control" them through it.