Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) to keep track on the water flows of the Mekong River and the saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta region, the local newswire Tuoi Tre (Youth) reported. The government leader made the order after the Jinghong hydropower plant from China reduced water discharge amid the dry season. He asked the relevant ministries to predict the issue to operate appropriate production and limit damages. According to Tuoi Tre, Beijing announced that the Jinghong hydropower plant has reduced water discharge from 1,650 cubic meters per second to 1,000 cbm each second from January 5 to 24 because of technical issues. It is not the first time the Jinghong hydropower plant reduced water discharge. In the same period of last year, the plant also reduced the water discharge to about 940 cbm per second. (Tuoi Tre, Tuoi Tre [1])