At least 12 crew members of two Chinese ships were killed earlier this month by an unknown group of armed men who hijacked their boats in the Golden Triangle region of the Mekong River.

The reason behind the killings is not clear, because nobody can tell exactly what happened, where exactly the incident took place and who the perpetrators were.

The bloody case has once again set alarm bells ringing over navigation safety on the Mekong. Since it was jointly inaugurated by China, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos in 2001, the Lancang-Mekong Waterway, especially the Golden Triangle area, has become a haven for pirates, kidnappers and blackmailers. This year alone, dozens of ships have been hijacked in the region.