Beijing - China and three of its Southeast Asian neighbours have vowed to step up the fight against drug trafficking in the infamous "Golden Triangle" region, reports Miriam Donohoe.
At a meeting in Beijing yesterday, ministers from Thailand, Burma, Laos and China agreed to develop regional initiatives to curb the trade and use of drugs in a part of the world considered to be the main producer of heroin.
The China State Councillor, Mr Luo Gan, said before the start of the meeting that an expanding international consumer market for drugs and pressures from Southeast Asia's economic woes were increasing drug-related crimes.
Some 80 per cent of China's drugs come from the "Golden Triangle" area. Parts of Burma's Shan State, which borders China, Laos and Thailand, are considered to be major producers of opium and heroin.