In the sixth session of the Southeast Asia in Focus Initiative, Brian Eyler, Senior Fellow & Director of the SE Asia Program at The Stimson Center, and Romina Bandura, Senior Fellow of Project on U.S. Leadership in Development at CSIS, joined Michael Martin, Ph.D, former Specialist in Asian Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, for a discussion on the Mekong Basin as a shared resource in Southeast Asia and evaluating Southeast Asian nations ties in the environmental, economic, and labor sectors and more. Brian discussed the major role that Thailand, Vietnam and China play in energy development in the region due, but also analyzed their limitations. Romina dove further into the challenges posed by COVID-19 and labor issues, and she explained that cooperation is the key to navigating these challenges through an advantageous labor market. In the Q and A portion, both speakers further discussed what the United States can do to help Southeast Asia’s position in the Mekong Basin and potential partners in the region to engage with to advance effective trade policies and strengthen US-Southeast Asia relations.

Audio and video recordings of this event can be found HERE.