Thailand's new PM Samak Sundaravej is trying to keep a balanced menu for both internal and external consumption
- From: Chim <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:41:14 -0800 (PST)
Tuesday February 26, 2008
Neighbours wary of water plan
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
.
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