Mekong nations must unite to battle transborder crime, says Srettha

In his address at the ninth Mekong-Lancang
Cooperation (MLC) ministerial meeting later this week, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will seek cooperation to fight call-centre gangs and transborder crimes.

The two-day meeting is being hosted by Thailand this year and kicks off in Chiang Mai on Thursday.

On Friday, Srettha is scheduled to deliver a speech on the meeting’s theme, “Towards Safer and Cleaner Mekong Lancang”.

The premier said on Monday that his government is focusing on cracking down on call-centre gangs that have been operating across the borders to deceive people into wiring them money.

He said he has assigned Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa to coordinate with neighbouring countries to suppress call-centre gangs.

Srettha also told the press that he will emphasise cooperation among Mekong nations to fight transborder crimes.

The MLC is a multilateral framework established in 2016 for cooperation among the six riparian countries along the Mekong, namely China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Lancang is the name given to the upper section of the Mekong River as it flows through China. Once the river leaves China and enters Myanmar, it is known as the Mekong River.

Maris, meanwhile, said cooperation between neighbouring nations would be necessary for fighting transborder crimes, including drug trafficking, human trafficking and call-centre gangs.

He said Thailand had won pledges from Cambodia, Laos, and China to suppress transborder crimes and he would use the MLC meeting to forge closer cooperation.

Maris also expressed appreciation that the governor of Laos’ Bokeo province had stepped up crackdowns on call-centre gangs in the province. 

After the MLC meeting in Chiang Mai on Friday, Maris is scheduled to hold a joint press conference with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the MLC cooperation.