The Chinese Ministry of Water Resources will provide hydrological data on the upper reaches of the Mekong River, known as Lanchang in China, during the flood season to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) from June 15 this year.

The move aims to meet the needs of countries along the lower reaches of the Mekong River for flood control and disaster relief during the river's flood season, which covers the seven months from May to November each year.

According to an agreement the ministry and the commission signed on April 1, China will inform the commission of water levels and rainfalls recorded at the Yunjinghong and Man'an hydrological stations in southwest China's Yunnan Province, at 8:30 a.m. every day between June 15 and October 15 until 2006.

The commission is an inter-governmental international organization set up by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam in 1995.

The 4,880-km (3,032-mile) Lancang-Mekong River, which originates in China's Qinghai Province, runs through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, emptying into the South China Sea.

( June 12, 2002)