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The LMC mechanism, despite being a novel idea when it comes to cooperation among the countries in the Mekong basin, has yielded fruitful results and achieved better-than-expected outcomes. It is entering a phase of further growth from the initial phase of nurturing and has demonstrated a “Lancang–Mekong speed and efficiency” (Xinhua News Agency, Lancang–Mekong Cooperation — A Bid to Build Community of Shared Future, 2018).

First, the LMC has a very clear and concrete goal. Since the official launch of the LMC mechanism in March 2016, it has established a “3+5” mechanism of cooperation, referring to the three cooperation pillars — political and security issues, economic and sustainable development, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges — and the five key priority areas of connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, agriculture, and poverty reduction (Fei & Lu, 2018). These are in line with the wishes and needs of the Mainland ASEAN countries. Second, the organization of the LMC is rapidly improving the mechanism of construction and the LMC’s institutional platform building has made steady progress, with a four-tiered dialogue mechanism at the different levels in place consisting of meetings among leaders, foreign ministers, senior officials, and working groups (Xinhua News Agency, 2018f). Third, the regional cooperation projects have quickly achieved concrete results. By the end of 2017, most of the 45 early harvest projects identified at the first LMC leaders’ meeting and the 13 initiatives put forward by China at the second LMC foreign ministers’ meeting have been completed or have made substantive progress (Xinhua News Agency, 2018e).

The LMC mechanism has produced better-than-expected progress over the past two years as the countries moved forward with the principle of equality and inclusiveness, having development as a priority, and defining the LMC culture with equality, sincerity, mutual assistance, and kinship. “The reason why the Lancang–Mekong cooperation mechanism has enjoyed rapid development is that the mechanism accords with the six nations’ common willingness to enhance all-win cooperation and the trend of regional economic integration,” just as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, “It has shown strong vitality since it was born” (Xinhua News Agency, 2018f).

Undoubtedly, the member countries of the LMC, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China, are fully aware of the opportunities that this cooperation mechanism brings to them.

The main reason why China advocates the establishment of the LMC platform is to promote the development of the lower Mekong region and to share the fruits and experiences of China’s economic development. To this end, China, as the main provider of funding for this cooperation mechanism, has delivered substantial financial assistance to the region. Since the two years from the first LMC Leaders’ Meeting in 2016, China has pledged, under the LMC framework, to provide concessional loans of up to 10 billion Yuan (US$1.6 billion) and credit loans totaling another 10 billion Yuan to promote industrial capacity cooperation and infrastructure construction within the region. Additionally, China is committed to prioritizing the Mekong area for spending in the South–South cooperation aid fund totaling US$200 ­million, as well as setting up an LMC special fund to provide US$300 million in five years to support small and medium-sized cooperation projects within the region. (Wang, 2018) China has also promised to support poverty alleviation in these countries with US$200 million in aid and to prepare another US$300 million to fund small and medium-sized cooperation ­projects in the next five years. (Liu, 2016) These funds span connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, as well as agriculture and poverty reduction, benefitting tens of millions of people living on the waterway (Xinhua News Agency, 2018b).

Under the framework of the LMC cooperation, economic relations between China and the Mekong sub-region have drastically expanded. For example, in the first 10 months of 2017, trade between China and the other five countries in the Lancang–Mekong area reached US$17.76 billion, up by 15.6% on the same period in the previous year. In the same period, China’s investment in the five countries reached US$2.68 billion, up 22.3% on the previous year (Xinhua News Agency, 2018e).

Taking into account the history and the present situation, the infrastructure construction of the Mekong sub-region lags seriously behind and has become a major obstacle to the socio-economic development of the region. Therefore, improving infrastructure has become one of the main goals of the LMC to boost regional development. With the development of LMC, some major projects are moving ­forward smoothly, such as the construction of the China–Laos Railway as well as the China–Thailand Railway. At the same time, river regulation in the Mekong River has also improved its transportation capacity. Now the river can accommodate ships weighing up to 420 tons, while in the past the river could only allow boats weighing less than 50 tons. According to statistical data, about 97,000 tons of cargo were transported through Guanlei Port in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 45.9%. With growing inter-governmental cooperation, sailing along the river has become much safer (Xinhua News Agency, 2017).

As social and cultural exchanges are also major areas of the LMC, people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the Mainland ASEAN countries have been strengthened. To this effect, to promote social and cultural exchanges and to accelerate human resource cultivation, the Chinese government has provided 18,000 scholarships and 5,000 exchange internships for member countries (Teo & Tan, 2016).

Because of the different situations of the member states, their expectations in regard to the LMC are also different. Thus, in the process of implementing the platform of the cooperation mechanism, China has focused on precise policies according to the situation of each country in order to address the development needs and strategies of various countries and to provide better assistance to these countries.

Thailand was considered to have had an important role in creating the LMC in the year 2014. As a country that relies significantly on the benefits of the Mekong River, Thailand uses the river as a water resource for agricultural use, industrial use, and for creating electricity. Thailand consistently supports a closer relationship between the Mekong sub-regions in order to support a closer and healthier mechanism between the countries, creating a peaceful future together. Additionally, under the military government of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the relationship between Thailand and China has become closer, both politically and economically. China has invested significantly in Thailand; in 2016, there were 69 projects that were supported by China, with investment in those projects alone reaching 242,888 million Baht — a 120% increase from 2015. Thus, China has become the second largest investor in Thailand, second only to Japan (Thai News Agency, 2016).

Thailand views this cooperation framework as a common theme in the river basin, being the driving force behind the development of the bilateral relationship between the two countries. It is the stage for Thailand to play a prominent role in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. China is also fully aware of Thailand’s aspirations and respects its position and role in the cooperation of the Mekong sub-region. So, the First LMC Leaders’ Meeting held in Sanya, China, was co-chaired by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Furthermore, Thailand also wants to push the cooperation framework to be more modern, with an emphasis on technology and innovation. This is to support the region as a whole by strengthening forces from within and to connect the region to the global market. Moreover, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is another key union for economic and development ­benefit of the region, connecting the Mekong sub-region and China. Thailand views this framework as an important mechanism to push the region as an economic hub and to build sustainable development using advanced tools. This is in line with Thailand’s policies and projects, namely, the “Thailand 4.0” policy, the Eastern Special Economic Zone (EEC), and the Thailand policy +1 (Zhou, 2018). The objective is to develop a strong resource management among the countries and to improve the water distribution among the involved countries based on mutual needs and responsibilities. This will help to strengthen the agricultural sector of each country and will lead to sustainable development of all the countries in the region. The collaboration mechanism will also promote exchanges and cooperation on culture and humanity. The exchanges between China and Thailand have increased significantly in the past year, with over 90 million Chinese tourists in Thailand and over 3,000 students studying in Thailand. Thailand also has approximately 20,000 students studying in China — the highest number of foreign students in that country.

Thus, it can be seen that with the support of China, Thailand has played an important role in the Mekong sub-region cooperation framework and will continue to be one of the major forces in the successful development of the region.

Even though Laos is a small country with no access to the ocean, it is also a major player in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. The Mekong River is a very important river in Laos. The Mekong River and its tributaries in Laos account for 35% of the total flow. Laos uses a lot of of hydroelectric power resources to produce hydroelectric power. There are currently 46 hydroelectric dams in Laos, with still more being constructed. Laos expects to build 100 hydroelectric dams by 2020 (Thansetthakij News, 2017). The exportation of hydroelectric power is one of the major revenue sources for the country. In Laos, the proportion of electricity exported is more than 70%. The production of hydroelectric power in the Mekong region is a solution to reduce poverty. Therefore, the management of the Mekong River is very important to the Laotian government. Furthermore, China is the country with the largest proportion of investment in hydroelectric dams in Laos. The investment aid from China comes in through assistance in project construction as well as through supplying construction materials. The investment companies are large state-owned companies owned by the Chinese government, such as Sinohydro, China International Water and Electric Corporation, China National Heavy Machinery Corporation, and China’s state-owned subsidiary, China Southern Power Grid, which holds stock in many provincial companies (Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, 2011). The participation of Lao PDR in the Mekong Cooperation Framework has contributed greatly to the cooperation and relationship between Laos and China in many respects, in addition to Mekong River water resources management. Laos has also harvested tangible benefits from the LMC mechanism, including those in human resource development, infrastructure construction, public healthcare, and poverty reduction. Additionally, another important aspect is that Laos is a landlocked country and the Mekong River is a major link for Laos. Under the current framework, China has approved the development of various projects for Laos. At the second LMC Leaders’ Meeting in Phnom Penh, China approved 13 projects for Laos under the Lancang–Mekong fund, which are worth more than US$3.49 million. Moreover, the project will help promote the socio-­economic development of Laos, and thus further strengthen ties between Laos and China within the Lancang–Mekong mechanism (Xinhua News Agency, 2018c).

China also attaches great importance to Laos’s position in the cooperation of the LMC. After the Second Leaders’ Meeting in Cambodia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed his belief that in the next two years, as the co-chair countries, China and Laos would work closely to implement the consensus reached in January at the Summit and would vigorously plan for the next step (Xinhua News Agency, 2018f).

The aim of Cambodia in the Mekong sub-region cooperation is to reduce poverty and to improve the quality of life of Cambodians in the area. Economic growth is the main emphasis of Cambodia. The Cambodian government views the Mekong cooperation framework as an increased opportunity to further develop economically and to strengthen international relations among countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. Cambodia particularly wishes to strengthen the relationship with China because China is a highly influential country in Cambodia. Between 1994 and 2014, China invested in Cambodia continuously and became the number one country with investment in Cambodia, accounting for 44% of all foreign investment or US$1.92 billion invested. The majority of Chinese investment was in infrastructure investment, bridge construction, and electric power investment, resulting in the growth and economic expansion of Cambodia. This is why the Cambodian government supports the cooperation projects fully. The Cambodian government hopes the projects will bring considerable benefits for the Cambodian people in a broad range of fields, from enhancing people’s livelihoods to capacity building in the fields of education, health, tourism, and ICT, to developing cooperation exchanges in Buddhism, and conserving and protecting cultural properties. Other tangible economic benefits could come directly from enhancing air travel in the LMC region, promoting the agricultural sector in addressing land degradation, as well as sustainable forest use and sustainable fisheries management in the Mekong sub-region (Xinhua News Agency, 2018d). Cambodia views itself as having the advantage of being a co-founder of this cooperation framework. With this advantage, Cambodia could shape development from the very beginning, co-creating the agenda and the various modalities for implementation. Since joining the LMC family in 2016, Cambodia has been an active supporter and enthusiastic participant of the mechanism. On December 21, 2017, China provided US$7.3 million from the LMC Special Fund to Cambodia for carrying out 16 projects in the kingdom, covering a variety of areas including agriculture, tourism, ICT, public health, education, research, water resources, and rural development, among others (Fei & Lu, 2018). These measures will provide strong support for poverty alleviation and socio-economic development in Cambodia.

In Myanmar, following a landslide victory in the November 2015 elections, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), a civilian government came to power. Therefore, Myanmar’s foreign policy has become more open and more connected to the world, mainly focusing on establishing friendly and close political relations with regard to international matters that may arise firmly on the side of genuine democratic values, identifying and cooperating with other countries on joint economic enterprises of mutual benefit. In particular, Myanmar tries to work together for the benefit of the region on issues relating to regional organizations and programs. The State Counselor of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has expressed the view that “Myanmar had no enemies, but relations with neighbors were more sensitive than others and needed to be carefully handled” (Xinhua News Agency, 2015). For example, China has been building up its relationship with Myanmar since the last government. After she came to power, Suu Kyi visited China first instead of the US. This was believed to be a pragmatic choice given that the newly elected Myanmar government gave massive importance to China and showed that China had played an instrumental role in Myanmar’s foreign diplomacy and stability. At the same time, Myanmar needs to balance its relationship with India, the rival of China in Asia. Myanmar needs to avoid being drawn into conflict zones in their common areas of influence and to know how to adapt whenever these two giants confront one another.

Myanmar needs to increase stability in international relations, especially with the powerful countries in the region. Therefore, joining the LMC has a positive impact for Myanmar. The country sees this framework as an opportunity to promote the relationship and cooperation with China without being involved in any conflict between China and India. Furthermore, the priority goals of the Myanmar government such as developing agriculture and improving infrastructure accord with the LMC objectives that emphasize economic cooperation, connectivity, and poverty reduction. Since state building is of paramount importance for the new government, Myanmar needs a massive amount of investment from foreign countries. Thus, joining in cooperation can positively help the economic development and national stability of Myanmar. China respects the position of Myanmar and hopes to increase input for the LMC, forging it into a new type of sub-regional cooperation mechanism, in a bid to jointly push forward sub-regional prosperity.

Vietnam is located along the lower Mekong. Although the Mekong River in Vietnam is only 230 kilometers long, the river is connected to many tributaries in Vietnam. The Mekong River contributes nearly 60% of the water volume each year. Its outflow to the South China Sea is an important area of agriculture. It is the largest area of the country, and transportation goes to the South China Sea. As Vietnam is downstream of the Mekong River, the country has been affected by dam construction upstream, particularly in China and Laos. This has been a major obstacle to Vietnam’s agriculture, especially in the year 2016 when the Vietnamese government requested that China drain the water downstream to solve the crisis. This is why Vietnam is most concerned about the issue of water resources management and the environment in the Mekong that results from upstream activities. The relationship between Vietnam and China, on the other hand, is not the same as between other countries in the Mekong sub-region. Unlike Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, the relationship between Vietnam and China is not as smooth due to disputes in the South China Sea. Participating in the Mekong cooperation framework, Vietnam hopes for a better development of water management in the Mekong River. The Prime Minister of Vietnam has stated that the LMC priorities will be given to hydro-meteorological statistics and information sharing, cooperation in response to drought and floods, and joint scientific research to construct reservoirs along the Mekong River. This cooperation will also be vital for infrastructure development that facilitates the flow of commodities, services and capital, and local people’s travel (Ganjanakhundee, 2018).

Additionally, the aim of the LMC framework should also be an ­important key to restoring the relationship between Vietnam and China. For example, Beijing agreed to discharge water from March 15 to April 10, 2016, from a dam in Yunnan at the request from the Mekong Delta countries, especially Vietnam, which was suffering its worst drought in 90 years (Liu, 2016). This action of cooperation reduced the tension from the South China Sea dispute.

The LMC mechanism also provides opportunities and the impetus to promote the ASEAN integration process. From the outset of the proposed mechanism, it was determined that LMC practical cooperation would be carried out through the three cooperation pillars, namely, (1) Political and Security issues, (2) Economic and Sustainable Development, and (3) Social Cultural and People-to-People exchange. This means that the objectives of the LMC are similar to the three pillars of the ASEAN community. They can promote practical and value-added cooperation in advancing sustainable development, narrowing development gaps, supporting the building of the ASEAN Community, and promoting the overall regional integration process. The five countries of the Mekong ­sub-region — Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam — are closely interconnected because they are all member countries of ASEAN and they have common goals in the building of a fruitful ASEAN community to share future peace and prosperity. China is a staunch supporter of ASEAN integration, and it is a major component of China’s ASEAN policy to help this regional cooperation organization to achieve its goal of integration through the development of the LMC mechanism.

It goes without saying that the successful operation of the LMC mechanism is also a positive opportunity for China. First, it is an important part in China’s implementation of the “Belt and Road” Initiative to establishing a community of shared future for humanity. The five countries downstream of China on the Mekong River represent a key area in the Belt and Road Initiatives. Thus, the LMC is considered by analysts to be an alternative mechanism for extending the sphere of influence of Beijing in a critical region, intending to promote regional peace and cooperation values (Cambodgemeg, 2018).

Second, the cooperation of the LMC is beneficial to the sustained, stable, and healthy development of China’s economy. The application of the LMC can also support China’s growth through infrastructure construction and by exporting its industrial capacity. This is just as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told the leaders of the Southeast Asian neighbors — in the challenging economic situation, better regional cooperation could help the Chinese economy to counter downward pressures. “We will explore building economic zones and industrial parks, investment zones and transport networks and keep improving infrastructure in the region,” he said. He called for progress in the infrastructure projects, including the two railway lines connecting China’s Yunnan Province with the Lao capital, Vientiane, and the Thai capital, Bangkok. A cooperation blueprint released earlier said that the railway linking China and Thailand was part of a Pan-Asia network that would also cover Singapore (Liu, 2016).

Third, the LMC mechanism has promoted bilateral relations between China and the mainland ASEAN countries in various fields. Economically, China became the largest trading partner of Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand, and the second largest for Laos. Bilateral trade between China and the five Mekong sub-region countries totaled US$220 billion in 2017, up 16% year on year. Some 80% of China’s rice imports are from the Mekong countries. Their fruit exports to China have increased by 21% annually over the past decade (Xinhua News Agency, 2018b). Politically, the close relations with the neighboring countries also improve China’s geopolitical conditions and the surrounding environment. Under the framework of the LMC, China can surely build a positive image by helping relatively underdeveloped countries of Mekong ­sub-region gain a better livelihood and achieve socio-economic development.