The Mekong River originates in China and winds its way south, flowing through or past five other countries -- Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam --- before it empties into the South China Sea. The Mekong is the beating heart of the region, and while a cliche, the depiction is painfully accurate. It supports and sustains 60 million people, providing them food and jobs. Those nations and communities do not just depend on the river; their existence is inextricably intertwined with it.

In recent years, the Mekong has pulsed with greater intensity and experts fear that it is being pushed to extremes, jeopardizing its ecosystem and all the lives that depend on it for survival. Mechanisms have been created to help manage the river, but their failures have become increasingly clear --- one of the biggest problems may be the multiplicity of initiatives. Now more than ever, close coordination among Mekong riverine states, those mechanisms, and the other governments promoting regional development is essential. No state plays a bigger role in this process than China. The future of the Mekong River may well be the most important and revealing test of Chinese intentions in Asia.

Drought, in combination with river development and subsidiary water utilization plans, last year brought the Lower Mekong River --- the part of the waterway downstream from China --- to its lowest levels in more than 50 years. A study released earlier this month shows that the primary culprit for the record drought was China. Dams built in its part of the 4,350-km river deliberately restrained flow, even though China had higher than average water levels upstream.