Patrols bring security to Mekong River

Shipping in the region is safer than ever thanks to joint efforts between China and its three neighbors, reports Hu Yongqi in the Golden Triangle

Sirens blared a warning across the apparently tranquil Mekong River as a Chinese patrol fleet entered the waters of the Golden Triangle, Asia's second-largest opium-producing region.

Chinese border police loaded their guns in the cabin before jumping through a hatch onto the deck in response to the Level 1 alert. The area is notoriously dangerous and was formerly the hunting ground of a gang led by Naw Kham, a Myanmar drug lord who was executed in March in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.