ASEAN countries jointly fight telecom fraud

Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries have recently taken a number of measures such as cutting off power and Internet access, strengthening legislation and law enforcement, etc., to severely crack down on cross-border criminal activities such as telecom fraud and online gambling. Many countries have expressed that they will continue to strengthen cooperation within ASEAN and with China and other countries, and increase joint crackdowns on illegal criminal gangs.

According to Thailand’s Bangkok Post on the 17th, in the past three weeks, the Myanmar military has carried out a clearing operation against telecom fraud centers in Myawaddy and other places, aiming to expel about 10,000 foreigners from the telecom fraud park in stages.

According to local media reports, since February 5, Thailand has cut off electricity, fuel supply and Internet connection at five points on the Thai-Myanmar border. The affected areas include Mon State, Shan State and Karen State in Myanmar, covering areas such as Tachileik and Myawaddy that are closely related to the activities of fraud gangs. The Bangkok Post quoted Chachai, secretary-general of the National Security Council of Thailand, as saying on the 11th that the government will also take more measures, including suspending the export of solar panels to Myanmar and controlling the export of fuel and gas.

Thai Prime Minister Petunthan told the media on January 28 that the Thai cabinet approved an amendment to the emergency decree proposed by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society. According to the amendment, Thailand will increase penalties for illegal and irregular behavior of P2P platforms and those who leak personal information, require telecom operators to suspend phone cards related to fraud, and require banks to submit suspicious account information to the Thai Anti-Money Laundering Office for faster investigation and refund to victims.

Laos has taken measures to limit electricity to Myanmar. The Lao National Electricity Company issued a statement on February 6 saying that the Lao National Electricity Company has re-limited the power supply to within 13 megawatts to prevent part of the electricity it transmits to Tachileik, Myanmar from being used for illegal activities.

Many Southeast Asian countries focus on strengthening cooperation within ASEAN and with China to jointly combat border and cross-border criminal activities. Combating cross-border crime is a key topic during Malaysia’s term as ASEAN’s rotating chair this year. Malaysian Interior Minister Saifuddin said on the 10th that Malaysia will jointly explore response strategies with countries in the region, starting from three key aspects: intelligence sharing, capacity building, and joint actions, to promote closer regional cooperation.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular press conference on the 17th that China is actively carrying out bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Thailand, Myanmar and other countries to jointly block criminals from committing crimes in relevant countries and jointly eradicate the cancer of online gambling and fraud.

The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar announced on the evening of the 16th that China and Myanmar had in-depth exchanges of views on further strengthening China-Myanmar law enforcement and security cooperation and jointly combating cross-border crimes such as telecommunications network fraud and human trafficking. The Myanmar side stated that it will strengthen coordination with China and other relevant neighboring countries to promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation and explore the establishment of a regular cooperation mechanism.

The Chinese Embassy in Thailand announced on the evening of the 17th that recently, Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Han Zhiqiang met with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Puttan and contacted with Foreign Minister Mali, and had in-depth communication with the other party on cooperation in combating online gambling and fraud crimes in Myawaddy and other places and rescuing trapped Chinese citizens.

Han Zhiqiang said that Thai Prime Minister Petunthan recently paid an official visit to China. The leaders of the two countries jointly expressed their firm determination and attitude to combat online gambling fraud and its derivative transnational crimes. The law enforcement agencies of the two countries acted quickly and have achieved initial results.

Putan and Mali said that Thailand attaches great importance to international cooperation in combating transnational crimes such as online gambling fraud and has taken a series of effective measures. They are willing to further strengthen cooperation with China on the basis of existing work and jointly provide a better security environment for the people of all countries in the region.