Chinese police officers guard on a vessel serving to escort commercial shipments along the Mekong River, Dec. 13, 2011. The 76th Mekong River joint patrol led by China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand started Nov. 20, 2018 from Guanlei Port, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province. According to Yunnan border police bureau, the joint patrol will last five days and cover a range of over 500 kilometers to enhance anti-terrorism capability, safeguard the security and crack down on cross-border crimes. Once every month since 2011, the patrols targeting drug trafficking, smuggling and other cross-border crimes along the Mekong, conduct random inspections in waters near key regions, including the Golden Triangle.The Mekong River, known as the Lancang River at the Chinese stretch, runs through China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is an important waterway for transnational shipping and a border area known for criminal activities. For seven years, security cooperation between the four countries has been getting closer with joint patrols a regular monthly phenomenon. The patrol includes anti-terrorism drills, police skill practices and anti-drug campaigns. Since December 2011, the joint patrols have covered more than 39,500 kilometers, with 122 merchant ships rescued and 582.28 kilograms of drugs seized. The cooperation has expanded to the cracking down on terrorism and human trafficking, as well as joint search and rescue. (Xinhua/Wang Xiaoxue)
