They made the commitment at the ministerial meeting of the 5th anniversary of Mekong River law enforcement and security cooperation mechanism in Beijing, China on December 27.

Speaking at the event, Chinese Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun said his country is ready to deepen collaboration with all sides in joint patrols along the river, anti-terrorism, border management and drug control.

He suggested building a centre for law enforcement and security cooperation along the river to share information and coordinate actions.

The partnership among countries along the Mekong River was launched in 2011 to ease safety concerns on the trans-boundary river after 13 Chinese sailors were murdered by a drug ring in the internal waterway of Thailand in November the same year.

The involved parties include China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, with Vietnam and Cambodia acting as observers.

Earlier on December 20, China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand started a new joint patrol on the Mekong River to increase safety on the border river. 

The 53th joint patrol involves seven ships and 190 law enforcers, departing from Guanlei port in the Xishuangbanna autonomous region in the southwest of China’s Yunnan province with the range of 500 kilometres.

VNA