This paper examines China's water governmentality in advancing the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC). It attends to how discourses, used as a political instrument, are framed, justified and contested in the reshaping of international hydrosocial territories. China's official and popular discourses present the LMC as promoting multilateral politics, economic benefits and social integration, while they obscure polarizing politics, external interventions and regional conflicts. Using strategies of positive publicity first, top-down communication and mutual empathy creation, these discourses aim to deflect attention away from controversies and geopolitics in the region to construct governable hydrosocial territories. However, in a transnational context where the Chinese state cannot unilaterally control geographical imaginaries, alternative discourses depict China as a “hydro-hegemon” that poses threats to downstream countries. The discursive dichotomy reflects multiple ontologies of water and power struggles in international river governance, bringing regional stability and sustainable development into question.

International Rivers — Rhine Navigation Courts — Jurisdiction as Established by Revised Convention of Mannheim concerning Navigation on the Rhine, 1868 — Jurisdiction as Covering Allegations of Negligence.

Treaties — Termination of — Unlawful Denunciation of Rhine Navigation Convention by Germany in 1936 — Factual Effects of.

International Rivers — Rhine Navigation Courts — Court Fees in Cases Involving Collisions on German Section of Rhine and Adjudicated by Netherlands Courts — Unlawful Denunciation of Rhine Navigation Convention by Germany — Factual Effects of.

International Rivers — Use of Waters of — Regulation by Treaty — Rights of Individuals — The Rio Grande River — The United States of America and Mexico.

Treaties — Interpretation of — Principles and Rules of — Treaty concerning International River — Rights of Individuals Under — Construction of Treaty Consistently with Municipal Law — Preference for such Construction — The Law of the United States of America.

Treaties — Operation of — Necessity for Municipal Legislation — Construction Consistent with Municipal Law — Intention of Parties — Rights of Individuals Under a Treaty — Treaty Concerning International River.

International Law — Relation to Municipal Law — Subordination of Jurisdiction of Municipal Courts to Treaty Obligations — Revised Convention of Mannheim, 1868.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation — Rhine Navigation Convention — Jurisdiction of Courts of Riparian States — Refusal of Jurisdiction — Denunciation of Rhine Navigation Convention by Germany — Restoration of Regime after the Second World War.

International Law — Subjects of — Individuals as Direct Beneficiaries of Treaties.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation on — Rhine Convention — Treaty Provisions in Relation to the Territorial State’s Own Subjects — Direct Operation of Treaty.

Treaties — Operation of — Direct Operation of Treaties in Relation to Individuals.

International Law — Relation to Municipal Law — Legislation Inconsistent with Treaty Obligations — Validity of — The Law of Holland — Convention of Mannheim of 1868 concerning Navigation on the Rhine and Netherlands Inland Navigation Legislation — Freedom of Navigation — Denial of Freedom of Navigation to the State’s Own Subjects — Direct Conferment of Treaty Rights upon Individuals — Travoux préparatoires.

International Rivers — Navigation on the Rhine — Convention of Mannheim, 1868 — Obligation of State of Netherlands to Keep Channel in Good Order — Extent of Obligation.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation on — Rhine Navigation Convention — Denunciation by Germany — Revival of the Treaty.

Treaties — Termination of — Unilateral Denunciation of Rhine Navigation Convention by Germany in 1936 — Application of the Convention as between Other Parties — Suspension of Treaty during the Second World War — Restoration of the Treaty

Individual in International Law — Right to Sue a State Party to a Treaty.

Treaties — Operation of — Right of Individual to Sue Signatory State — Convention of Mannheim, 1868.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation — Navigation on the Rhine — Convention of Mannheim, 1868 — Compulsory Membership of Shipowners’ Organization as Obstacle to Freedom of Navigation — Right of Individual to Sue under Treaty.

International Rivers — Rhine Navigation Convention — Competence of Rhine Navigation Tribunals — Admissibility of Alternative Tribunals within the Same Riparian State.

Treaties — Interpretation of — Principles of — Interpretation in the Light of Changed Circumstances — Necessity for Express Limitation of Freedom of Territorial State — Rhine Navigation Convention.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation — Navigation on the Rhine — Convention of Mannheim, 1868 — Jurisdiction in Navigation Cases — Exclusive Jurisdiction of Rhine Navigation Courts.

Treaties — Denunciation of — Effect of Denunciation.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation — Navigation on the Rhine — Convention of Mannheim, 1868 — Jurisdiction in Cases of Collision on the Rhine — Special Rhine Shipping Tribunals — Effects of Denunciation by Germany of Mannheim Convention in 1936 — Effects of Allied Occupation of Germany on Normal Operation of Legal Rhine Shipping Régime.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation — Convention of Mannheim, 1868, concerning Navigation on the Rhine — National Regulations for Control of Prices — Compatibility or Incompatibility with Freedom of Navigation — National Law and Treaty Provisions

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation on — Whether Bar to Compulsory Insurance of Crews of Vessels in Foreign Waters — Statute of the Rhine.

Treaties — Unilateral Denunciation of — Effect of German Denunciation of the Mannheim Convention Concerning the Rhine.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation — The Rhine — Revised Act of Mannheim of 1868 — Denunciation by Germany in 1936 — Legal Effects in Holland — Continued Application of the Convention.

International Rivers — Jurisdiction on Rivers and in Harbours — Article 34 of the Rhine Navigation Convention of October 17, 1868 — Construction of Treaties — Restrictive Interpretation.

International Rivers — Act of Mannheim of October 17, 1868, concerning Navigation on the Rhine — Dutch Legislation.

International Law — Relation to Municipal Law — Treaties — Operation of — Act of Mannheim of October 17, 1868, concerning Navigation on the Rhine — Dutch Law of 1933 regarding Distribution of Freight-Traffic — Whether Inconsistent with the Act of Mannheim — Interpretation of the Treaty by Courts-Interpretation of the Law in Conformity with the Treaty.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation — International Commissions — Tributaries of International Rivers — The River Oder — Article 331 of the Treaty of Versailles.

State Responsibility — Executive Action — Unwarranted Use of Arms by Soldiers.

International Rivers — Freedom of Navigation on — Exercise of Police Powers — State Responsibility — Unwarranted Use of Arms.

International Rivers — Rhine — Convention of Mannheim, of 17 October, 1868 — Article 354 of the Treaty of Versailles — Court for Navigation Rights on the Rhine — Exequatur of Judgments — Court Authorised to Grant the Exequatur