China’s no bully, Xi tells bloc

Thailand supports China’s continued and constructive role in narrowing development gaps both in Asean and the sub-regions, particularly the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation framework, under which Thailand will assume co-chairmanship with China in 2022, and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy, of which China is one of the key Development Partners.

China detains at least 400 Myanmar migrants for more than a year

The 400 workers are among a pool of some 230,000 migrants who have sought work in China in the wake of armed conflict, environmental destruction and natural disasters in Myanmar, the Mekong region’s largest source of migrants, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration. The undocumented status of the workers leaves them susceptible to exploitation at the hands of business owners and local officials.