RP, China agree to step up cooperation vs illegal drugs

The Philippines and China have agreed to step up cooperation in the fight against the illegal drug trade.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said in a statement after a recent trip to China that he and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing have agreed to begin implementing a legal and administrative framework for the bilateral campaign.

"We both acknowledge the problem of drugs and reiterated our determination to win this fight," Ople said. "We have established the legal and administrative framework to wage this battle. We must now ensure their full implementation."

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. recently went to Beijing to discuss the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation Against Illicit Traffic and Abuse of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursor Chemicals that was signed during President Arroyo’s visit to the Chinese capital in October 2001.

The government’s focus on establishing stronger cooperation with China was triggered by the proliferation of Chinese nationals as sources of illegal drugs in the Philippines.

As a result of Lina’s Beijing sortie, both governments adopted the Terms of Reference for the joint conduct of investigations and controlled delivery operations, the communication flow-chart between the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and China’s Ministry of Public Security, and the formulation of a program of action. All of these measures aim to stop the entry of illegal drugs into the Philippines.

A team of Chinese experts will also visit the Philippines in the last quarter of the year as the first activity of the program of action.