Laos defends actions on Xayaburi at MRC meet
Laos yesterday defended its decision to begin building the Xayaburi dam amid criticism from Cambodia on a lively final day of the Mekong River Commission’s annual council meeting in Luang Prabang, Laos. According to separate sources who attended, Cambodia spoke out against Laos for “misinterpreting” the 1995 Mekong Agreement and the prior consultation process that was designed to have prevented it from constructing the 1,285-megawatt dam without approval from its neighbours. … Kirk Herbertson, Southeast Asia policy coordinator for environmental group International Rivers, said he was happy Cambodia had raised concerns about the 1995 agreement and the shortcomings of the Xayaburi prior consultation process – which is still technically active – and added that Vietnam called for a halt to all mainstream development. “But what happened were words,” he said. …
