The water levels in Chinese dams all along the Mekong river will be tracked and published by a satellite, the project which was funded by the United States. The project which was announced on Monday adds the superpowers' rivalry in Southeast Asia. The 4,350-km (2,700-mile) waterway known as the Lancang in China flows south through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam has become a focus of competition.

Beijing has denied US research saying Chinese dams have retained water to the detriment of downstream nations, where 60 million people depend on the river for fishing and farming. The project Mekong Dam Monitor, partly-funded by the State Department, uses data from cloud-piercing satellites to track levels of dams in China and other countries. The satellite information will be open for everyone in near real-time from Tomorrow, December 15. 

The report includes a separate indicator of "surface wetness" to show which parts of the region are wetter or drier than usual: a guide to how much natural flows are being affected by the dams. Brian Eyler of the Washington-based Stimson Center, a global think tank which operates the virtual water gauges says "The monitor provides evidence that China's 11 mainstream dams are sophisticatedly orchestrated and operated in a way to maximize the production of hydropower for sale to China’s eastern provinces with zero consideration given to downstream impacts". The Project also has few positive benefits unlike in 2019 when a study says China hold back water in dams when several countries are facing drought, hereafter everyone can know the exacr real situation. 

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