By Panu Wongcha-um and Kay Johnson
BANGKOK (Reuters) – China has notified neighbors downstream of blocking the Mekong River at a hydroelectric dam at the top of the waterway for 20 days, as part of a new partition treaty, the Mekong River Commission (HRC) and Thailand on Wednesday said.
The statements come a day after a new US-backed monitoring system said China had not notified downstream countries of water restrictions starting on December 31.
China agreed last October to share water data with the MRC, an advisory body to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam that has long sought the information for planning.
More than 60 million people in the countries depend on the river for fishing and farming.
Thailand’s National Water Command Center said China on Tuesday notified Thailand that its Jinghong Dam would reduce its water discharge rate from 1,904 cubic meters per second to 1,000 cubic meters per second from January 5 to 24, a decrease of about 47%.
It was for ‘maintenance of transmission lines’ in its electricity network, he said.
The MRC said it received notification the same day, although the water levels were only detected on December 31st. The level is likely to drop by about 1.2 meters and river navigation and fishing could be affected, he said.
The MRC said the Chinese notice assured that the flow “will be gradually restored to its normal operating status on January 25”, without giving an exact volume.
The new Mekong Dam Monitor said on its Facebook page on Tuesday that China did not notify neighbors when the Jinghong Dam began restricting water on December 31, causing a sudden 1 meter downstream that could affect the fish population. devastate.
The monitor uses cloud-penetrating satellites to track levels at 11 upstream dams in China and those in other countries. Partly funded by the U.S. State Department, it began operations last month that contributed to the superpower between China and America in Southeast Asia.
Chinese authorities could not be immediately reached for comment. Beijing has rejected proposals to harm Mekong dams downstream.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Kay Johnson; Editing by Martin Petty)