“His gang patrols a 50 km stretch along the Mekong River between Burma and Laos.”
Naw Kham's militia has since established a reputation as a ruthless and violent gang, bullying and robbing not only drug traffickers, but goods traders and civilian travelers.
Chinese authorities began to sit up and take notice after the gang attacked a Chinese vessel on the river in 2008, seriously injuring three security officials.
According to Brian McCartan, a Chiang Mai-based journalist writing in Asia Times in 2009, one of possible reasons Naw Kham is targeting Chinese interests on the Mekong is related to the expansion of China's business empire in the region, including a massive multimillion-dollar casino project being constructed on the Laotian side of the Golden triangle.
Kings Romans, the Macao company responsible for the casino, has angered local communities by evicting villagers from their land with insufficient compensation, and for importing Chinese workers instead of utilizing the local workforce.
“Many villagers in the area were happy to see him 'tax' Chinese cargo vessels, which often carried products that undercut the price of their local foods and wares,” McCartan wrote, adding that the displaced villagers saw Naw Kham's militia as the only way to challenge the Chinese investors.
On February 20, 2010, 13 Burmese police officials and patrol boat crew were killed and two other policemen were injured during a gun battle with the Hawngleuk militia.
Following the attack, Naypyidaw and Vientiane significantly raised their level of cooperation on Mekong security.
A Burmese journalist in the Golden Triangle region, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that he recently encountered the Naw Kham militia while taking photographs on the river.
“At the time, Naw Kham’s men were on three speedboats. They cut off our boat and boarded it,” he said. “They were well armed, and some of them wore masks. They made us kneel with our hands on our heads. Then they took all our money.”
Over the past two decades, three ethnic armed groups from Burma have attempted to control the Mekong River route through the Golden Triangle. The first group was drug lord Khun Sa’s Mong Tai Army, followed by the UWSA and the Shan State Army (South) led by Yawd Serk.
“All were pushed back by the Burmese army,” Khunsai Jaiyen said. “Unless they had the support of the local Burmese authorities, Naw Kham and his men could not survive in this area.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded immediate action from the authorities of Thailand, Laos and Burma on the case of the murder of the Chinese crewmen.
"The Chinese government values the life and safety of every Chinese citizen, and demands a thorough probe of what happened, and that the murderers be brought to justice,” Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao told envoys from the three Southeast Asian countries.
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