China and five other countries launched a joint three-month drug crackdown along the Lancang-Mekong region on Thursday.
A coordinating command center was unveiled in Jinghong city, southwest China's Yunnan Province at a ceremony marking the start of the joint action. Chinese senior anti-drug officials and representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam attended the ceremony.
Anti-drug liaison staff from the six countries will pool information,share experiences and coordinate to ensure the action a success, said China's Ministry of Public Security.
Lancang is the Chinese name for the upper reaches of the Mekong River. The Lancang-Mekong stream stretches nearly 5,000 km through the six countries.
The drug control task in the Mekong River area remains difficult due to the resurfacing of opium poppy cultivation in the Golden Triangle region, the growth of synthetic drugs and more hidden drug trafficking in recent years.
Since the China-proposed joint drug control efforts in the region began in 2013, a series of cross-border drug cases were solved, said the ministry.
The joint drug crackdown started in 2015. Thailand hosted the first phase of the joint action in early 2016.
