Human trafficking and scam compounds are sowing further rifts within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Laos effectively undermined attempts by Thailand to deny the criminal syndicates access to electricity supplies in Myanmar where they have flourished with impunity. Within 24 hours of announcing the cuts to Tachileik, Thai mediaContinue Reading
China and Thailand should strengthen their economic and political relations to deal with the significant uncertainties facing the world, President Xi Jinping told Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in Beijing yesterday. Paetongtarn is currently on a four-day official visit to China, her first since taking office last year, which alsoContinue Reading
Thailand today suspended electricity, internet services, and fuel supplies to three regions of neighboring Myanmar in an effort to combat the online scamming centers that have been established there. Speaking to the press yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said that the alarming spike in scamming operationsContinue Reading
January passed with mixed fortunes for Thailand’s leaders. The good news was that the country, despite its large trade surplus with the United States, was not slapped with tariffs by the second Trump administration. Among the bad news was the growing notoriety of Thailand as a gateway to the transnational,Continue Reading
Chinese police have detained a key suspect in a number of recent human trafficking cases linked to cyberscam networks along the Myanmar-Thailand border, including the kidnapping of a well-known Chinese actor earlier this month. In a statement on Sunday, China’s Ministry of Public Security said that a “major criminal suspect”Continue Reading
The six Mekong River countries plan to bolster their efforts to combat online scamming and arms dealing in mainland Southeast Asia, amid a quickening flow of reports about human trafficking and criminal activity in the region. The meeting, which took place in Kunming on Tuesday, brought together law enforcement officialsContinue Reading
