Pubdate: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 Source: Times of India, The (India) Copyright: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 2001 Contact: http://www.timesofindia.com/ CHINA AGREES TO ANTI-DRUG COOPERATION WITH THAILAND, MYANMAR BANGKOK: China has agreed to cooperate with Thailand and Myanmar to combat the flow of illegal drugs in the region, the foreign ministry here announced on Saturday. "The Chinese foreign minister has agreed in principle on a tripartite cooperation with Thailand and Myanmar for drugs suppression," a ministry statement said. The announcement coincides with a four-day official visit by Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai to China that started Thursday and which has included meetings with President Jiang Zemin and his counterpart Tang Jiaxuan. The minister said before the visit he would request broad cooperation from Chinese officials on the regional narcotics trade, especially the fight against the amphetamines which are tearing at the fabric of Thai society. He has specifically asked Beijing to exchange information and offer technical assistance to combat drug production and trafficking along the Myanmar-Thai border, an area close to China's southern Yunan province. Thailand and China have agreed during Surakiart's visit to exchange embassy-level anti-narcotics agents. Beijing has already signed separate initial agreements with Bangkok and Yangon on bilateral anti-drug cooperation. However, Thai authorities are increasingly concerned by the flood of amphetamines -- estimated at some 600 million pills per year -- from the Golden Triangle drug-producing area which includes parts of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, and borders on southern China. The raw chemical ingredients which go into the making of amphetamines are often illegally imported into Thailand and Myanmar from China. Thailand is hoping China will be able to use its influence on Myanmar at a time when its own relations with Yangon are at a low point over a border dispute stemming mainly from the region's lucrative drug trade. Isolated by the international community, Myanmar has drawn close to China, and is counting on its "big brother" to help thwart Western sanctions, and with its failing economy. Surakiart's visit to China is his first outside Southeast Asia since he took up his post last month. He is scheduled to hold anti-drug talks with Myanmar's vice foreign minister Khin Maung Win next week in Chile on the sidelines of a meeting between ministers of East Asian and Latin American countries. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake