China, Laos, Burma and Thailand on Sunday launched a new joint patrol on the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle Region in an attempt to normalize trade and transportation after an incident last year in which 13 Chinese sailors were killed on the river.
According to a report by China’s Xinhua news agency, a fleet of four patrol ships set sail early on Sunday morning from Guanlei Port in southwest Yunnan Province on a five-day police patrol, which will include an exercise at the Laos-managed sections of the river to inspect ships, passengers and goods for drugs, weapons and stowaways travelling on the river.
The four-country joint patrol started in October 2011 to tackle safety concerns raised after a gang hijacked two cargo ships and killed 13 Chinese sailors on board in the waters of Thailand on October 5, 2011.
A Chinese court on November 6 sentenced Shan drug lord Naw Kham and three of his subordinates to death for the murder of the 13 Chinese sailors. Another two members of Naw Kham's gang received a death sentence with reprieve and eight years in prison.
All six defendants were charged with intentional homicide, drug trafficking, kidnapping and ship hijacking, but said they would appeal the verdict.
Naw Kham reportedly learned his trade as a captain and an administrator in former Burmese drug lord Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army until he surrendered to the Burmese military regime in 1996.
