This picture taken early on October 20, 2026, shows wind turbines in Dak Cheung, a district of Sekong province, part of Laos's 600-megawatt Monsoon Wind Power Project, which began operating in August 2025. Rising from verdant ridgelines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam's surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Laos-Vietnam-economy-energy-wind, FOCUS by Matt SURRUSCO and Eden EZRA

This picture taken on October 20, 2026, shows a wind turbine in Dak Cheung, a district of Sekong province, part of Laos's 600-megawatt Monsoon Wind Power Project, which began operating in August 2025. Rising from verdant ridgelines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam's surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Laos-Vietnam-economy-energy-wind, FOCUS by Matt SURRUSCO and Eden EZRA

This picture taken early on October 20, 2026, shows power lines on a transmission tower with wind turbines (background) during sunrise in Dak Cheung, a district of Sekong province, part of Laos's 600-megawatt Monsoon Wind Power Project, which began operating in August 2025. Rising from verdant ridgelines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam's surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Laos-Vietnam-economy-energy-wind, FOCUS by Matt SURRUSCO and Eden EZRA

This picture taken on October 20, 2026, shows an employee working in a substation in Dak Cheung, a district of Sekong province, part of Laos's 600-megawatt Monsoon Wind Power Project, which began operating in August 2025. Rising from verdant ridgelines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam's surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Laos-Vietnam-economy-energy-wind, FOCUS by Matt SURRUSCO and Eden EZRA

This picture taken on October 20, 2026, shows a child climbing a step ladder up to his traditional thatched roof wooden home at Dak Wai village in Dak Cheung, a district of Sekong province, with a view of wind turbines in the distance, part of Laos's 600-megawatt Monsoon Wind Power Project, which began operating in August 2025. Rising from verdant ridgelines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam's surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Laos-Vietnam-economy-energy-wind, FOCUS by Matt SURRUSCO and Eden EZRA

This picture taken on October 20, 2026, shows a wind turbine beyond power lines at a substation in Dak Cheung, a district of Sekong province, part of Laos's 600-megawatt Monsoon Wind Power Project, which began operating in August 2025. Rising from verdant ridgelines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam's surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Laos-Vietnam-economy-energy-wind, FOCUS by Matt SURRUSCO and Eden EZRA

This picture taken on October 20, 2026, shows buffalo skulls displayed near houses at Dak Xieng A village in Dak Cheung, a district of Sekong province, near Laos's 600-megawatt Monsoon Wind Power Project, which began operating in August 2025. Rising from verdant ridgelines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam's surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Laos-Vietnam-economy-energy-wind, FOCUS by Matt SURRUSCO and Eden EZRA

This picture taken on October 20, 2026, shows children playing with a makeshift football at Dak Wai village in Dak Cheung, a district of Sekong province, with a view of wind turbines in the distance, part of Laos's 600-megawatt Monsoon Wind Power Project, which began operating in August 2025. Rising from verdant ridgelines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam's surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Laos-Vietnam-economy-energy-wind, FOCUS by Matt SURRUSCO and Eden EZRA