would provide downstream riparians with any real capacity to challenge China's development plans, given the dramatic power imbalances exhibited by these countries' relations with China. The MRC has been hesitant to fully register concerns about Chinese upstream hydro-development. For example, in a letter to the Bangkok Post, MRC CEO Dr. Olivier Cogels in fact argued that Chinese dams would increase the river's dry season volume as their purpose was electricity generation and not irrigation. While such dams certainly could increase dry season flows, the only certainty about future Chinese reservoir policies seems to be that they will be crafted outside of downstream cooperation regimes. Public statements from MRC leaders in the same vein as Cogels' comments have—to some—earned the MRC a reputation of being complicit in allowing "China's dam-building machine float downstream." See also SERVIR Mekong Project LMC (Lancang-Mekong Cooperation) References Bibliography Backer, Ellen Bruzelius. 2007. "The Mekong River Commission: Does It Work, and How Does the Mekong Basin’s Geography Influence Its Effectiveness?" Südostasien aktuell: Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, p. 31–55. Baker, Chris. 2007, February 24. "What is Vientiane?" Bangkok Post. Bakker, Karen. 1999. "The politics of hydropower: developing the Mekong." Political Geography, 18: 209–232. Cogels, Olivier. 2007, January 9. "Mekong hydropower development is good." Bangkok Post. Dore, John. 2003. "The governance of increasing Mekong regionalism." In Social Challenges for the Mekong Region. Eds. Mingsarn Koasa-ard and John Dore. Bangkok: Chiang Mai University. Ghosh, Nirmal. 2007, November 15. "Mekong dams 'will displace 75,000 people'; Environmental groups urge international donors to review their support for project." Straits Times. Hirsch, P. 2003. "The Politics of Fisheries Knowledge in the Mekong River Basin." NSW 2006 Australian Mekong Resource Center. Jacobs, Jeffrey W. 1995. "Mekong Committee History and Lessons for River Basin Development." The Geographical Journal, 161(2): 135–148. Jacobs, Jeffrey W. 1998. "The United States and the Mekong Project." Water Policy (1): 587–603. Japan Times. 2007, March 15. "Dark Clouds over Shangri-La." Kanwanich, Suprandit. 2002, October 6. "At the mercy of the Mekong." Bangkok Post. Kristensen, Joern. 2002. "Food Security and Development in the Lower Mekong River Basin and the Need For Regional Cooperation: A Challenge for the Mekong River Commission." Defining an Agenda for Poverty Reduction: Proceedings of the First Asia and Pacific Forum on Poverty, Volume 1. Manila: Asian Development Bank. Lebel, Louis, Garden, Po, and Imamura, Masao. 2005. "The Politics of Scale, Position, and Place I the Governance of