The Mekong near Nakhon Phanom

In Thailand called as Mae Nam Khong.
In north-east Thailand, with over 20 million people, the water resources are virtually fully developed and problems are emerging associated with salinisation of arable lands as result of over-clearing of native vegetation and poor irrigation, soil erosion, and declining water quality in the rivers and streams. In Laos, with 5 million people and a much poorer country from a GDP perspective, the water resources are largely undeveloped. Cambodia, with 10 million people, is recovering from decades of war, and in the Mekong delta some 20 million Vietnamese live on some of the most highly productive agricultural land in the world.

In short, the Thai want more water; the Laotions want capital and expertise to develop hydropower for export to Thailand and Vietnam; the Khmers need capital and infrastructure and to secure sustainable fishery resources in the Tonle Sap (Great Lake); and the Vietnamese, while in need of capital for the management of resources, do not want any upstream development to exacerbate salt water intrusion in the Mekong delta during the dry season.