Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  Blas F. Ople  today  welcomed  new  arrangements  forged  between  the governments of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China to operationalize their commitment to work together against the illicit traffic and abuse of abuse of drugs.

Secretary Ople said closer cooperation between Philippine and Chinese law enforcers will aid the ongoing campaign to neutralize and prosecute drugs syndicates in the country.

Secretary Ople said the meeting between Secretary Jose D. Lina, Jr. of the Department of Interior and Local Government and his counterpart, Minister Zhou Yongkang of China’s Ministry of Public Security, in
Beijing on 06 August 2003, spelled out the operational measures of the bilateral agreement signed in 2001 during the state visit to China of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Secretary Lina in Beijing together with Undersecretary Anselmo Avenido Jr., Director General of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to discuss with China’s MPS Drugs Control Bureau modalities for
information exchange, joint conduct of investigations and controlled delivery operations.

“The implementation of this agreement is  a key practical area of cooperation between the two sides and further widens our common ground with the People’s Republic of China,” Ople said.

Noting China’s successful anti-drug campaign within its borders and in transborder cooperation with its neighbors like Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar, Ople said streamlined working links with China will help
Philippine authorities in cracking down against smuggling and production of illegal drugs in the country.