Joint Statement on Strengthening Cooperation in

Combating Transboundary Crimes under

the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Framework

The Ninth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Chiang Mai, the Kingdom of Thailand, on 16 August 2024. We, the Heads of Delegations, of the Lancang-Mekong countries, recalled our determination to combat transboundary crimes as agreed upon in the Nay Pyi Daw Declaration of the Fourth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting and the Five-Year Plan of Action of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (2023-2027). In this context, the Heads of Delegations issue the statement as follows:

1. We are deeply concerned about the gravity and seriousness of the persistent and escalating threats posed by transboundary crimes, including cross-border online gambling, telecommunication frauds, illicit drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism, cybercrimes, smuggling of firearms and other criminal activities, which undermine the security and stability of the Lancang-Mekong region, as well as the safety and well-being of our people.

2. We commend the ongoing efforts and underscore our determination to fight against transboundary crimes and ensure public security, the sub-regional stability and safety of people's lives and property. In this regard, we call for closer cooperation at all levels, while respecting the principle of national sovereignty, international and domestic laws and legal framework of the member countries and ensuring synergy with other relevant initiatives such as the Global Security Initiative, to safeguard social stability as well as the safety of people's lives and prosperity in the region.

3. We urge member countries to prioritize cooperation in the areas of anti-drug trafficking as well as curbing telecommunication/online frauds and all kinds of online gambling, and encourage law enforcement and security agencies of the six member countries to work closely with each other to promote information sharing and step up monitoring and border control, when applicable. In this regard, we welcome the cooperation under the "Safe Lancang-Mekong Operation" and the Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center (LMLECC), on a voluntary basis.

4. We recognize the urgent need to elevate cooperation among the six member countries in combating transboundary crimes and express our full support for the initiative to convene the LMC Ministerial Meeting on law enforcement and non- traditional security cooperation to achieve concrete cooperation in combating transboundary crimes by the end of 2024, or as soon as practicable.