Joint action helps to reduce crime

Security along the Lancang-Mekong River has improved greatly since China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand established a law enforcement cooperation mechanism to combat rampant cross-border crime.

Before this, the number of cross-border crimes on the river - including drug-trafficking, terror attacks, smuggling of firearms and humans, and illegal immigration-had risen sharply, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

"Such crimes tend to become severe and complex on the river, posing a serious threat to regional security and stability," said a senior official at the ministry, who declined to be named.