Power and Geopolitics along the Mekong The Laos–Vietnam Negotiation on the Xayaburi Dam. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs

Abstract

This article is the first account of an overlooked aspect of the Xayaburi Dam, currently under construction in Laos in the mainstream of the Lower Mekong River; namely, the negotiations between Laos and Vietnam. Despite broad consensus among scholars and observers that Vietnam and Laos had diverging interests and preferences regarding the Xayaburi Dam, how Laos went ahead with the project despite Vietnam's explicit opposition to it has so far remained completely uncharted.