III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 126 

Recognizing the vital importance of the Mekong River to Southeast Asia 

and the role of the Mekong-United States Partnership in supporting 

the prosperity of the region. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2023 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. SULLIVAN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JUNE 13, 2023 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 

NOVEMBER 6, 2023 

Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the vital importance of the Mekong River to 

Southeast Asia and the role of the Mekong-United States 

Partnership in supporting the prosperity of the region. 

Whereas the Mekong River supports the livelihoods of approximately 60,000,000 people, making it the most important river in Southeast Asia and one of the most important rivers in the world; 

Whereas the Mekong-United States Partnership, comprising 

the United States, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, 

and Vietnam, and the predecessor of that partnership, 


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SRES 126 ATS 

the Lower Mekong Initiative, have contributed greatly to 

the economic, social, and human resources development 

of the countries in the Mekong River Basin and the protection of the Mekong River; 

Whereas the United States has longstanding diplomatic relations with the countries in the Mekong River Basin, including a nearly 200-year-old relationship with treaty ally 

Thailand; 

Whereas the development of the countries in the Mekong 

River Basin is critical for the unity, economic strength, 

and institutional development of the Association of 

Southeast Asian Nations, a strategic partner of the 

United States; 

Whereas the Mekong River continues to be affected by environmental changes, coupled with the construction of upstream dams that have altered the natural flow of the 

river and vital ecological processes supported by natural 

flow; 

Whereas, since 2019, the flow of water in the Mekong River 

during the wet season has been abnormally low; 

Whereas the Nuozhadu and Xiaowan Dams in China account 

for more than 50 percent of the water storage of all dams 

in the Mekong River Basin and can restrict up to 10 percent of the total wet season flow of the Mekong River, 

exacerbating drought conditions downstream; 

Whereas the Mekong River Commission is an integral partner 

in ensuring the long-term health of the Mekong River; 

Whereas the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy can be a leader in supporting river development and protection; 


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SRES 126 ATS 

Whereas the Mekong Dam Monitor, funded partly by the 

Mekong-United States Partnership, has provided essential data and information about the impacts of hydropower dams along the Mekong River to the people and 

governments of the Mekong River Basin to allow them to 

prepare for irregular water flows and mitigate the economic and environmental impacts of those flows; 

Whereas the Mekong River has become a hub for criminal 

elements to traffic in drugs, people, and wildlife, undermining the rule of law in the countries in the Mekong 

River Basin and impacting the world through the proliferation of illegal drugs and fauna that can cause spillover of zoonotic diseases; 

Whereas the international community has committed to support the development of countries along the Mekong 

River through internationally recognized development 

goals; 

Whereas the Friends of the Mekong, which includes the countries in the Mekong River Basin, the United States, Australia, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, the 

Republic of Korea, the Asian Development Bank, the 

Mekong River Commission Secretariat, and the World 

Bank, is committed to supporting the shared principles 

that have underpinned peace and prosperity across the 

Indo-Pacific for decades; 

Whereas close coordination and collaboration with civil society groups throughout the Mekong River Basin is essential to the protection of the Mekong River; 

Whereas, among the countries in the Mekong River Basin, 

there has been a negative trend toward the detention and 


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SRES 126 ATS 

detainment of civil society actors and journalists and an 

increase in violations of human rights; 

Whereas the February 1, 2021, military coup in Burma was 

illegal and unjustified and has resulted in more than 

2,000 deaths, more than 1,000,000 people displaced, and 

tens of thousands of people in detention, and continued 

violence threatens the stability of the entire region, especially those countries along the borders of Burma; and 

Whereas diaspora communities from countries in the Mekong 

River Basin are a vital part of the United States and 

help build thriving people-to-people ties between those 

countries and the United States that lead to strong commercial, civil society, and cultural ties: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses sincere concern over the environ3 mental, economic, and humanitarian threats to the 

4 Mekong River and the communities of the Mekong 

5 River and continued support to counter those 

6 threats; and 

7 (2) declares it is the policy of the United States 

8 Government— 

9 (A) to, through the Mekong-United States 

10 Partnership and the Friends of the Mekong, 

11 promote the economic and environmental well12 being of the people of Mainland Southeast Asia 

13 in the 5 countries through which the Mekong 


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SRES 126 ATS 

1 River flows, namely, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, 

2 Thailand, and Vietnam; 

3 (B) to encourage the development of qual4 ity infrastructure, national electricity markets, 

5 cross-border energy trade, cross-border trans6 port, greater energy access, the development of 

7 micro, small, and medium enterprises, agri8 culture, transportation, the facilitation of trade 

9 and investment, strengthened subregional pro10 duction linkages and supply chains, digital in11 frastructure, and the digital economy in the 

12 Mekong River Basin; 

13 (C) to promote engagement and buy-in of 

14 the United States private sector to support in15 clusive economic growth, resilience, global 

16 health, education, and long-term development in 

17 the region; 

18 (D) to leverage the expertise of the United 

19 States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Aus20 tralia, and other partners in high-quality infra21 structure to support the economic development 

22 needs of the countries in the Mekong River 

23 Basin; 

24 (E) to encourage all members of the Asso25 ciation of Southeast Asian Nations to view the 


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1 environmental, humanitarian, and economic 

2 threats to the Mekong River as a danger to the 

3 entire region; 

4 (F) to promote effective water use policies, 

5 natural resources management, and environ6 mental conservation and protection, including— 

7 (i) through support for a technically 

8 sound, well-coordinated, and consensus9 based approach to managing the shared re10 sources of the Mekong River Basin; 

11 (ii) through support for environmental 

12 conservation, protection, and resilience in 

13 the Mekong subregion; and 

14 (iii) by enhancing the capacity of 

15 countries in the Mekong River Basin on 

16 conservation and management of natural 

17 resources, including fishery resources, for 

18 long-term food security; 

19 (G) to continue the important work that 

20 provides vital data and monitoring to the people 

21 and Governments of the Mekong River; 

22 (H) to encourage the development of the 

23 capacity of the region to respond to a variety of 

24 threats, including countering transnational 

25 crime such as trafficking of drugs, wildlife, timVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Nov 06, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR126.ATS SR126

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1 ber, and persons, and criminal activity associ2 ated with illegal, unreported and unregulated 

3 fishing, and to improve health security, includ4 ing emergency preparedness and response for 

5 pandemics and epidemics, cybersecurity, and 

6 disaster response and preparedness and human7 itarian assistance and disaster relief; 

8 (I) to promote the development of human 

9 capital through education, medical and public 

10 health partnerships, vocational training, youth 

11 empowerment, women’s economic empower12 ment, gender equality, university cooperation, 

13 and educational and professional exchanges; 

14 (J) to work together with countries in the 

15 Mekong River Basin to combat pollution, over 

16 fishing, natural resource degradation, and the 

17 effects that environmental changes are having 

18 on the Mekong River, and the communities that 

19 depend on the river, and to support the abilities 

20 of such communities to adapt and build resil21 ience capacities of those countries; 

22 (K) to encourage all countries in the 

23 Mekong River Basin to provide timely early 

24 warning for natural and unnatural operations 

25 of the river; 


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1 (L) to support freedom of expression in the 

2 countries in the Mekong River Basin through 

3 promoting independent journalism and the free4 dom to access information; 

5 (M) to continue to call for the cessation of 

6 violence in Burma and support the return of 

7 Burma to a path of inclusive democracy, so that 

8 it can fully contribute to regional development; 

9 (N) to prioritize the strengthening of peo10 ple-to-people ties through United States ex11 change programs such as the Fulbright Pro12 gram, the Peace Corps, the International Visi13 tors Leadership Program, and the Young 

14 Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Program, 

15 including the Young Southeast Asian Leaders 

16 Initiative Academy at Fulbright University 

17 Vietnam; and 

18 (O) to recognize that strong democratic in19 stitutions, the promotion and protection of fun20 damental freedoms, independent civil society, 

21 and free and fair elections are central to imple22 menting the shared vision of a Mekong River 

23 region, and an Indo-Pacific region, that is free, 

24 open, secure, and prosperous. 

Æ 


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