Joint Mekong river patrols begin

China, along with three other Asian nations, has started co-ordinated patrols on the Mekong river in an effort to improve security in the increasingly violent area.

Thailand, Myanmar and Laos have signed an agreement with Beijing to escort shipping vessels through the Golden Triangle, where the borders of the three countries meet, in an area notorious for drug smuggling.

The joint security initiative comes in response to the deaths of 13 Chinese sailors in October.

Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports.