This photo taken on September 20, 2019 shows a fisherman on the Laos side of the Mekong River near Huay Xai town in Bokeo province, with the Thai province of Chiang Rai in the background. – Ninety-seven kilometres of rocks in Thai waters stand between Beijing and dominance over the Mekong, a mighty river that feeds millions as it threads south from the Tibetan plateau through five countries before emptying into the South China Sea. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)