China
11:53, 14-Sep-2017
The Big Picture: Water diplomacy
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Two Chinese cargo ships, the "Hua Ping" and "Yu Xing", were attacked by armed gangs along the Mekong River on October 5, 2011.
Thirteen Chinese sailors were killed along a section of the waterway that flows through the "Golden Triangle", where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet. Naw Kham, the head of a drug gang and the suspected mastermind behind the massacre, was arrested and extradited to China, where he was tried and sentenced to death.
And a four-nation joint patrol mechanism was later set up and the joint patrol on the river began in December 2011.
A bird's-eye view of the Mekong River. /CGTN Photo
A bird's-eye view of the Mekong River. /CGTN Photo
Joint patrols along the Mekong River, a major regional water transport passage linking China and five other nations in southeast Asia, have been conducted 60 times since then.
CGTN correspondents were invited on board the patrol ships to find out how this mechanism helps to bring China’s initiative to build a stronger Maritime Silk Road to down-to-earth practice.
Joint Patrols
Monthly patrols are part of diplomatic efforts on a key strategic waterway, to enhance law enforcement carried out jointly by China, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand.
Lao and Thai Police participating in joint operations. /CGTN Photo
Lao and Thai Police participating in joint operations. /CGTN Photo
“With a joint patrol of our four countries, Thailand acts as the observer,” said Panuuat Chaisakorn, Thai Marine Police.
"China has played a key role in the joint patrol that helps stable security along the river. It has sent the largest number of boats," said Phoumy Scngaphone, Lao Police.
Water Diplomacy
Since President Xi Jinping took office five years ago, China has been more proactive in engaging with the rest of the world. It wants to convey its peaceful intentions over disputes with other nations.
Special emphasis is on the Good-Neighbor Principle. This is to assure its neighbors that a rising China is not a threat, but an opportunity that will benefit their interests. The Mekong River joint patrols epitomize China’s aim to seek regional stability and cooperation.
Chinese border police on a Mekong River joint patrol mission. /CGTN Photo
Chinese border police on a Mekong River joint patrol mission. /CGTN Photo
For China's neighbors, the Mekong links their relations with a rising economic power. For China, it’s a testing ground for its peaceful development. The hope is this diplomatic approach can sail China's relations with Asian neighbors upstream, far beyond the Mekong's reaches.
The Mekong River
The Mekong is a trans-border river in Southeast Asia. It is the world's 12th longest river and the seventh longest in Asia, with an estimated length of over 4,000 kilometers. From the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the river runs through China's Yunnan Province, and then Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The river is known in China as Lancang River.
Chinese fishermen living along the Mekong River. /CGTN Photo
Chinese fishermen living along the Mekong River. /CGTN Photo
The extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. Even so, the river is a major trade route between western China and Southeast Asia. Many cargo ships berth at the docks in the river, which is regarded as the "Golden Waterway" for trade.
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