The launching of joint patrols on the Mekong River by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand over the weekend is the initial result of the quartet’s efforts to increase security and stability along the waterway.
The joint patrols have set a precedent for more transnational cooperation in security issues in the region.
On Saturday, five patrol boats equipped with heavy machine guns and carrying hundreds of armed police and military personnel from the four nations, acted as escorts to 10 Chinese cargo ships from Guanlei port in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China’s Yunnan province. Thanks to the relay-like convoys, the Chinese flotilla safely arrived at Chiang Saen port in Thailand one day later.
This operation marked the beginning of the four countries’ joint endeavor to police the Mekong and saw the resumption of international shipping two months after 13 Chinese sailors were murdered in attacks on two cargo ships in the infamous opium-producing Golden Triangle area.
The attack prompted the four nations to bring to life a plan to conduct joint law enforcement along the Mekong that they had been mulling for years. And an agreement was reached in Beijing on Oct. 31 that paved the way for deepening transnational cooperation in policing the river.
Under the new framework, the quartet will now jointly patrol the whole river around the clock, supply convoys to commercial vessels and combat cross-border crimes. This is a blessing to the 70 million people living in the river basin and the international commercial vessels traveling along the river.
These enhanced efforts will help deter the various criminal groups operating along the river, especially in the Golden Triangle area, a region that is a notorious haven for drug traffickers, pirates and gangsters, who pose an increasing threat to human life and property.
With the joint patrols underway, security on the Mekong has been greatly strengthened, and this in turn will contribute more to transnational and cross-border trade.
An important shipping route linking China to Southeast Asia, the Mekong River is playing a growing role in regional trade. In recent years, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have been committed to regional integration and development. Better land, sea and air connectivity has been the foundation for this trend.
Hence, a safer Mekong will be an important link facilitating seamless travel within the China-ASEAN free trade area of 1.9 billion people.
The significance of the joint operations on the Mekong goes well beyond maintaining security along the river as it promises better transnational cooperation on other regional security issues.
As defense officials and scholars from China and ASEAN member countries are gathering in Beijing to discuss strengthening defense and security ties, they can draw on the spirit of the Mekong mechanism as a blueprint for future cooperation.
