Commentary China is using the Mekong River as a geopolitical tool. Established in 1995, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) is a formal agreement between the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The agreement “came about as the four countries saw a common interest in jointly managing their shared water resources and developing the economic potential of the river,” according to the MRC’s website. In 2006, realizing the importance of the Mekong, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) decided to get involved. In the 15 years since, the CCP has done everything in its power to manipulate the Mekong to its advantage. In 2016, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC), a multilateral agreement between the riparian states of the Lancang River and Mekong River, was signed into effect. The Lancang, one of the largest and longest rivers in China that merges with the Mekong, originates in the Tibetan Highlands, an enormous, elevated plateau in South Asia. The Mekong, so much more than …