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E-Banner Mekong Forum 2

Regarding regional integration, the common concern of cooperation mechanisms in the sub-region as well as in ASEAN is to find solutions to narrow the development gap between mainland Southeast Asia and maritime Southeast Asia. The critical question is how sub-regional cooperation contributes to the building of ASEAN Community.

Regarding regional security, the Mekong River Basin is currently facing various non-traditional security issues such as water security, environmental pollution, transnational crime, etc., which would be further aggravated in the future if appropriate measures are not taken. Since non-traditional security issues are borderless, other non-basin ASEAN countries may suffer unintended adverse outcomes. Therefore, a region-wide approach is required for a comprehensive solution.

For ASEAN, raising the Mekong issue on the agenda is conducive to maintaining its centrality as the center of regional architecture, helping to keep the region's cohesiveness despite conflicts and tensions. Current Mekong governance mechanisms are not multilateral but monopolistic institutional arrangements. This will, in the long run, threaten the strategic autonomy of small and medium-sized countries in the sub-region.

In addition, solving the Mekong issue as a common concern of ASEAN is closely related to building a stronger ASEAN community. The goal of "ASEAN - One Vision, One Identity, One Community" cannot be realized if the issues of the mainland ASEAN countries are excluded from the concerns of the whole bloc.

Topic for The Second Mekong Forum will be: “ASEAN Centrality in addressing the challenges in the Mekong sub-region” 

The follow – on discussion then will also focus on:

• Assessing the key challenges that the Mekong subregion is facing that matter to ASEAN
• Discussing the rationale and capacity of ASEAN in playing a central role in facilitating a solution for the Mekong sub-region’s challenges.  
• Discussing the practical policy steps that ASEAN must take to promote a stronger ASEAN concensus on the Association’s indispensible role in the Mekong sub-region.