ABSTRACT
The Greater Mekong subregion (GMS) comprises six countries, and the Mekong River runs through it. The countries are China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Mekong River originates in Tibet and flows about 4,350 kilometers through the GMS countries before discharging into the South China Sea. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is the principal river basin management organization. MRC's mandate requires its members to "cooperate in all fields of sustainable development, utilization, management and conservation of the water and related resources of the Mekong river basin" and "ensure reasonable and equitable use" of the Mekong River system. The river's strategic significance derives mainly from a combination of elemental factors rooted in the food-water-energy nexus and exacerbated by climate change. An added element is the location of the subregion between the two large continental economies of China and India, a position that can potentially be either disruptive or beneficial in terms of a larger pan-Asian economic integration.
