Tuesday February 26, 2008
SARITDET MARUKATAT
Bangkok Post
At home Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is fighting for some proof that his cabinet ministers are good and credible enough to run the country. Abroad, the premier has to soothe Thailand's neighbours' concerns.
Mr Samak is not happy with criticism from the media and opposition Democrat party regarding his cabinet members. That's understandable, given that not all of them have been picked or approved by him. At 73, he's not young any more. But his time with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is relatively ''young'' compared with other loyalists who are now with the People Power party. That could be why he had little influence when it came to forming this government. The only thing the seasoned politician can do now is show the public that he's the one who calls the shots for his administration, that he aims to complete his four-year mandate.
The prime minister seems to have lots of things to do during his tenure. Some were unveiled the same day his premiership was endorsed by His Majesty the King, others have come up later and he uses his weekly broadcasting show to tell viewers and listeners across the country.
One item on Mr Samak's to-do list which is under very close watch by countries surrounding Thailand is his idea of using water from the Mekong River for northeastern farmers. That plan, in fact, is high on his agenda. The plan looks simple, judging from what he has explained to the public through the media. Water from the mighty Mekong will be diverted to reservoirs in the Northeast through tunnels. Then when people need to use water for farming, this will be released to farmlands. This, according to Mr Samak, is a way to rid the farmers of poverty in the poorest region of Thailand.
But the water diversion plan will definitely not be easy when it comes to carrying it out. Mr Samak's idea sounds very impressive. Instead of watching the river passing us by on its way to the sea in southern Vietnam, why should Thailand not make maximum use of it?
The difficult part is that Thailand cannot use water from the Mekong at will. Unlike the Chao Phraya, Mae Klong and Tha Chin, the Mekong is an international river. It is not the private asset of any country in particular. This, at least, applies to countries in the lower basin of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. China still treats the Mekong as a Chinese river, calling it Lancang and claiming that it simply runs inside China and does not form a border with other countries.
The Mekong's waters are not and cannot be managed by Mr Samak or the Thai government alone. The Mekong River Commission takes care of it, with consent from other countries. Countries sharing the Mekong and located above Thailand (Burma and China), will not be affected by the plan. But that would not be the case for Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Though their governments are quiet on this idea of Mr Samak's, this cannot be interpreted as meaning they agree with it. Water from the Mekong is more precious for them than it is for Thailand. The river serves as a backbone for agriculture in Laos, like the importance of the Chao Phraya to Thai farmers. In Laos, most of its scarce arable land lies along the bank of the Mekong. The Mekong also helps farmers and water transport in Cambodia and at the same time supplies water to the Vietnamese farmers in the delta, which is Vietnam's most suitable land for farming.
With the importance this river holds for these countries, it is easy to say what they have in mind regarding Mr Samak's plan. Nobody believes that water siphoned off by Thailand will have no effect on other countries sharing the same river and relying heavily on its water too.
Their leaders will be keen to hear from the Thai prime minister how serious he is about pushing this idea, when he soon begins the traditional visit to other countries in Southeast Asia. His trips include Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, which stand to be affected by the Thai water project.
Mr Samak has promised he will go there by commercial flight instead of the specially arranged aircraft normally used by Mr Thaksin. This is good news for taxpayers as far as form is concerned. The substance will be Mr Samak's diplomatic skills in convincing them not to protest against his pet plan.
Saritdet Marukatat is News Editor, Bangkok Post.
Mr Samak is not happy with criticism from the media and opposition Democrat party regarding his cabinet members. That's understandable, given that not all of them have been picked or approved by him. At 73, he's not young any more. But his time with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is relatively ''young'' compared with other loyalists who are now with the People Power party. That could be why he had little influence when it came to forming this government. The only thing the seasoned politician can do now is show the public that he's the one who calls the shots for his administration, that he aims to complete his four-year mandate.
The prime minister seems to have lots of things to do during his tenure. Some were unveiled the same day his premiership was endorsed by His Majesty the King, others have come up later and he uses his weekly broadcasting show to tell viewers and listeners across the country.
One item on Mr Samak's to-do list which is under very close watch by countries surrounding Thailand is his idea of using water from the Mekong River for northeastern farmers. That plan, in fact, is high on his agenda. The plan looks simple, judging from what he has explained to the public through the media. Water from the mighty Mekong will be diverted to reservoirs in the Northeast through tunnels. Then when people need to use water for farming, this will be released to farmlands. This, according to Mr Samak, is a way to rid the farmers of poverty in the poorest region of Thailand.
But the water diversion plan will definitely not be easy when it comes to carrying it out. Mr Samak's idea sounds very impressive. Instead of watching the river passing us by on its way to the sea in southern Vietnam, why should Thailand not make maximum use of it?
The difficult part is that Thailand cannot use water from the Mekong at will. Unlike the Chao Phraya, Mae Klong and Tha Chin, the Mekong is an international river. It is not the private asset of any country in particular. This, at least, applies to countries in the lower basin of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. China still treats the Mekong as a Chinese river, calling it Lancang and claiming that it simply runs inside China and does not form a border with other countries.
The Mekong's waters are not and cannot be managed by Mr Samak or the Thai government alone. The Mekong River Commission takes care of it, with consent from other countries. Countries sharing the Mekong and located above Thailand (Burma and China), will not be affected by the plan. But that would not be the case for Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Though their governments are quiet on this idea of Mr Samak's, this cannot be interpreted as meaning they agree with it. Water from the Mekong is more precious for them than it is for Thailand. The river serves as a backbone for agriculture in Laos, like the importance of the Chao Phraya to Thai farmers. In Laos, most of its scarce arable land lies along the bank of the Mekong. The Mekong also helps farmers and water transport in Cambodia and at the same time supplies water to the Vietnamese farmers in the delta, which is Vietnam's most suitable land for farming.
With the importance this river holds for these countries, it is easy to say what they have in mind regarding Mr Samak's plan. Nobody believes that water siphoned off by Thailand will have no effect on other countries sharing the same river and relying heavily on its water too.
Their leaders will be keen to hear from the Thai prime minister how serious he is about pushing this idea, when he soon begins the traditional visit to other countries in Southeast Asia. His trips include Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, which stand to be affected by the Thai water project.
Mr Samak has promised he will go there by commercial flight instead of the specially arranged aircraft normally used by Mr Thaksin. This is good news for taxpayers as far as form is concerned. The substance will be Mr Samak's diplomatic skills in convincing them not to protest against his pet plan.
Saritdet Marukatat is News Editor, Bangkok Post.
2 comments:
mekong river is the international waterway, and if one to look on the map of southeast asia, thailand is only sharing the river with laos and no mekong river is running wholly in thailand's territory. so, for thailand to try to convert this waterway without consulting or consideration with its member nations is out of the question. i don't think other asean nations who have the mekong river run through them would be happy about this. plus, there is an organization called the mekong river committee that kind of keep an eye on this kind of violation. so, what is thailand thinking?
asean, please complain to the mekong river commission who is the governing board of the development of the mekong river basin.
Post a Comment