Burma will give itself an extra five years to eliminate drug production within its borders, a senior official said as officials from China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam gathered in Rangoon on Monday to discuss the region’s drug crisis. A report by AFP quoted deputy police chief Zaw Win as saying that Burma had “extended its drug elimination to 2019,” from a previous deadline of 2014. Burma has experienced a rebound in poppy cultivation, while amphetamine-type stimulants are also surging. A minister-level meeting in Naypyidaw on Thursday is expected to produce a regional declaration on the issue.