China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand launch 170th joint patrol along Mekong River

China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand launched the 170th joint patrol and law enforcement operation along the Mekong River on Monday. 

More than 100 law enforcement officers from the four countries attended the launch ceremony in Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Following the ceremony, Chinese patrol vessels departed for a designated area, where it was scheduled to rendezvous with vessels from Laos and Myanmar to form a joint flotilla for a coordinated patrol along the river.

A command post was set up aboard the Chinese law enforcement vessel No. 53107, with commanders from all four countries jointly overseeing the operation alongside their respective delegations.

Their tasks will include segmented patrols, coordinated river-wide enforcement and joint land-water operations. Officers will patrol key shipping routes, hazardous river sections, riverside docks and ferry crossings, focusing on transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, illegal border crossings and smuggling.

They will also inspect navigation hazards and work to prevent and mitigate security risks across the Mekong Basin, safeguarding the lives and property of residents in riparian countries, as well as those of passing vessels and their crews.

During the operation, law enforcement agencies from the four countries will also hold a multilateral information-sharing meeting in Laos to exchange updates on security conditions along the river, assess emerging trends in cross-border crime and discuss closer coordination in information sharing, joint case handling and coordinated prevention and control.

A cultural exchange  

The joint patrol also featured a cultural exchange earlier on Saturday, when law enforcement officers from the four countries gathered in Xishuangbanna's Jinghong for a special outdoor screening of the Chinese space documentary Shenzhou 13.

The film, China's first space documentary shot in 8K, offers a glimpse of the vast universe and the daily lives of astronauts aboard China's space station. Told from the perspective of three crew members of China's Shenzhou-13 manned space mission, it also conveys a vision of a shared future for humanity, resonating with the audience.

The event was jointly organized by China Media Group (CMG) and the Yunnan Provincial Public Security Department, as part of CMG's outdoor public screening program, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. 

It was also the first screening specifically organized for the Mekong River joint patrol, as the mechanism marks its 15th anniversary in 2026.