Description: Thailand has announced it has cut the power in several areas in neighboring Myanmar amid concerns of massive scam centers being run in the country by Chinese crime syndicates. The scam centers are filled with people who have been forced to work there under the pretext of highly paid positions or even torture and blackmail in some cases. The scam centers run in the military – ruled Myanmar had intensified their activities in the past couple of years, and targeted mostly Chinese citizens who were forced, kidnapped or blackmailed into working. Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss enhancing of cooperation between the two countries in countering the highly lucrative illicit industry.
Impact: Myanmar after the military coup in 2021 had become an enriched market for the development of highly profitable cybercrime scam centers. The centers enrich heavily organized crime groups in China which in turn play a significant role in other criminal activities such as arms trade and proliferation, human trafficking, drug production and distribution and various others. Cooperation between Thailand and China is crucial towards countering what could potentially become a serious security issue in the region as it would incentivize further imposition of criminal activities.