III 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 126 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 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, 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 is increasingly imperiled by the threats from worsening and extreme changes in the environment, 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; 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 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

That the Senate— (1) expresses sincere concern over the environmental, economic, and humanitarian threats to the Mekong River and the communities of the Mekong River and continued support to counter those threats; and (2) declares it is the policy of the United States Government to— (A) through the Mekong-United States Partnership and the Friends of the Mekong, promote the economic and environmental well-being of the people of Mainland Southeast Asia in the 5 countries through which the Mekong River flows, namely, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam; (B) support a whole-of-government approach in providing and coordinating Federal aid and assistance throughout the Mekong River Basin under the Mekong-United States Partnership, including programmatic support provided by the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, and other Federal agencies; (C) contribute to the development of quality infrastructure, the development of national electricity markets, cross-border energy trade, the facilitation of cross-border transport, clean energy acceleration and deployment, the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises, agriculture, transportation, the facilitation of trade and investment, strengthened subregional production linkages and supply chains, digital infrastructure, and the digital economy in the Mekong River Basin; (D) promote engagement and buy-in of the United States private sector to support inclusive economic growth, resilience, global health, education, and long-term development in the region; (E) leverage the expertise of the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and other partners in high-quality infrastructure to support the economic development needs of the countries in the Mekong River Basin; (F) support the development of quality infrastructure, including through projects financed by the United States International Development Finance Corporation, as appropriate, in the countries in the Mekong River Basin; (G) encourage all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to view the environmental, humanitarian, and economic threats to the Mekong River as a danger to the entire region; (H) promote effective water use policies, natural resources management, and environmental conservation and protection, including— (i) through support for a technically sound, well-coordinated, and consensus-based approach to managing the shared resources of the Mekong River Basin; (ii) through support for environmental conservation, protection, and resilience in the Mekong subregion; and (iii) by enhancing the capacity of countries in the Mekong River Basin in the sustainable conservation and management of natural resources, including fishery resources, for sustainable food security; (I) continue the important work that provides vital data and monitoring to the people and Governments of the Mekong River; (J) support the development of the capacity of the region to respond to a variety of threats, including countering transnational crime such as trafficking of drugs, wildlife, timber, and persons, and criminal activity associated with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and to improve health security, including emergency preparedness and response for pandemics and epidemics, cybersecurity, and disaster response and preparedness and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief; (K) promote the development of human capital through education, medical and public health partnerships, vocational training, youth empowerment, women’s economic empowerment, gender equality, university cooperation, and educational and professional exchanges; (L) work together with countries in the Mekong River Basin to combat pollution, over fishing, natural resource degradation, and the effects that changes in the global climate systems are having on the Mekong River, and the communities that depend on the river, and to support the abilities of such communities to adapt and build resilience capacities of those countries; (M) encourage all countries in the Mekong River Basin to provide timely early warning for natural and unnatural operations of the river; (N) support freedom of expression in the countries in the Mekong River Basin through promoting independent journalism and the freedom to access information; (O) continue to call for the cessation of violence in Burma and support the return of Burma to a path of inclusive democracy, so that it can fully contribute to regional development; (P) prioritize the strengthening of people-to-people ties through United States exchange programs such as the Fulbright Program, the Peace Corps, the International Visitors Leadership Program, and the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Program, including the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam; and (Q) recognize that strong democratic institutions, the promotion and protection of fundamental freedoms, independent civil society, and free and fair elections are central to implementing the shared vision of a Mekong River region, and an Indo-Pacific region, that is free, open, secure, and prosperous.