China, Asean unite to fight border crime

China will partner with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to set up a special law enforcement college in a bid to tackle rampant cross-border crime.

The China-Asean law enforcement college, which will be housed within the Yunnan police officer academy, will be funded by the ministry of public security, it said on Tuesday.

Cross-border crime and terrorist activities, the manufacture and trafficking of drugs, human trafficking, firearms smuggling, illegal immigration, cybercrime and telecom fraud have become more prevalent and complex in recent years and pose a serious threat to regional security and stability, China Daily quoted experts as saying.

"It's more than necessary to set up such a college to strengthen law enforcement cooperation between China and Asean countries to combat cross-border crimes. We need to maintain regional security and promote economic prosperity," said a senior official at the ministry's international cooperation bureau.

According to the ministry, in addition to setting up the college, China and Asean will enhance communications and hold regular visits as well as exchanges between teachers and students.

They will also conduct joint research into relevant cases and share practical experiences.

The ministry said that China will train 2,000 police officers from Asean countries to help them improve their tactics and ability to combat border crime.

The partners plan to set up a committee to share information. There will also be annual round-table conferences between the ministry and law enforcement authorities from Asean countries.

Seng Phally, president of the police academy of Cambodia, said: "We urgently need to seek help in fighting human trafficking and drugs manufacturing and smuggling."

He said the educational facility will sharpen the focus of enforcement agencies.

"Such a college will provide targeted training programmes to our police officers, then help them improve their evidence collection techniques and their attack capabilities to cope with trans-national crimes."