Naw Kham, head of an armed gang and the prime suspect in last year's deadly Mekong River killing of 13 Chinese sailors, will stand trial in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province Thursday. This is a rare case where residents of other countries accused of killing Chinese citizens have all been arrested and extradited through transnational collaboration and will be tried under Chinese law.

In the wake of the killings last October, huge concern was stirred up over the future of this golden waterway, which connects China and Southeast Asia. Within China, public shock stemmed more from the fact that the protection of overseas Chinese remained weak despite the rapid growth of China's national strength.

The cracking down of the case and the trial of the foreign suspects deserve applause from Chinese society. In the judicial collaboration among China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, there are witnesses from all four countries. Differences in language, legal framework and investigation procedures also made the case a bewildering mystery.

However, a few new moves have been tried in the judicial cooperation among the four countries. For instance, it is the first time that the procuratorial authorities of Yunnan Province applied to bring witnesses from Thailand and Laos to testify in local courts. All these efforts help build the authority of China's judicial system abroad. It is through the accumulation of such moves that foreign gangs will think twice before targeting overseas Chinese.

But in order to prevent such criminal cases, long-term input is urgently needed.

The Lancang-Mekong River Merchantman Navigation Agreement, signed by China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand in 2001, officially marked the opening-up of a new trade route between China and Southeast Asian countries. And China started to conduct investigations and surveys of this waterway in the late 1980s. However, the appalling killings last year exposed that China was severely unprepared for both risk evaluations and tackling emergencies.

At the moment, joint patrols and law enforcement on the Mekong River has ensured normal navigation. But more needs to be done by China, which plays a dominating economic role in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). China should take the initiative in boosting further institutionalization of international police collaboration in this region, and give greater aid to GMS countries to help eradicate hotbeds of criminal activities.