China Water Reservoirs Threaten Red River: Vietnamese Government

China’s operation and regulation of water reservoirs located in the upstream of rivers would largely affect the flow of a number of rivers, mostly Red river in Vietnam, minister cum chairman of the Vietnamese Government Office has said. The reservoirs, which are located nearly the border areas, especially in the upstream of Red, Thao and Lo rivers, would cause unexpected consequences to Vietnam – the country whose 63% of water resources sourced outside the territory, Minister Nguyen Van Nen said at a government’s regular meeting on Oct 29. Earlier, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked ministries to work with Chinese forces to enhance cooperation in meteorology to avoid sudden cases that would harm Vietnamese localities which are in the downstream. The request was made following the opening of floodgates that Chinese authorities did earlier this month. The action caused flooding and damage to Vietnam’s northern locality and rivers. Noticeable, Chinese forces made the discharge without warning Vietnamese authorities. Two big rivers in Vietnam namely the Red river in the north and the Mekong river in the south both originate from China. Local experts have been warning the Vietnamese government of signing legal documents to set obligations for China to avoid unexpected situations. Vietnam is building eight monitoring stations along river flows alongside the Vietnam-China border areas and expects to put them into operation mid-2016, Mr. Nen said. (Dantri.com.vn Oct 30)