The Mekong is an increasingly lucrative trade route. Beijing has invested heavily in the Mekong as part of a strategy to expand its economic and diplomatic influence in Southeast Asia, dynamiting some sections to allow bigger ships to pass, streamlining import and export procedures, and improving shipping support facilities. The geopolitical murder mystery is set against the backdrop of Southeast Asia's famed Mekong River, which flows from the Himalayas through China, where it is called the Lancang, and into Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.Īround 60 million people depend on the river and its tributaries for food, transport and many other aspects of their daily lives.
