China seems to be convincing the Thai government it would be a good idea to blow up islets and reefs interfering with its large Mekong River boats. For decades, China has desired and designed to turn the river into a canal for its own boats from Yunnan. It's known as Khon Phi Long -- "the Islet of Lost Souls" -- a relatively large islet in the river between Laos and Thailand. Water released by Chinese-built dams on the Lancang, as China calls the upstream Mekong River, made the journey by these boats possible, even in the dry season. That starts with its view that the Lancang is a Chinese river and the Mekong is a shared river.

Source: Bangkok Post May 18, 2017 21:33 UTC