Increasing scrutiny and exposure of global internet scams based in Southeast Asia has sparked fast-moving developments to quash the schemes and countermoves by the organized gangs behind them. Recent months have seen crackdowns, arrests and internet cutoffs by law enforcement agencies and regional governments. Meanwhile, Cambodia and Myanmar continue to be the most egregious havens for criminal operations, while Laos seems to be demonstrating early signs of concern for the impact of organized crime on its sovereignty.

Type: Analysis

Economics;  Global Policy;  Human Rights

Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are in Vientiane, Laos this week for the bloc’s annual summit and the concurrent East Asia Summit, which brings ASEAN together with other important regional players like the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Russia and China. Typically, the East Asia Summit is not a venue for major policy discussions, but the gathering offers opportunities for a bevy of side meetings between various countries. At both summits, Southeast Asian leaders will lament progress on Myanmar and the South China Sea — where China’s maritime claims and aggressive actions lead to tensions with regional countries — and the state of the world in general.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

The Myanmar military has endured historic losses over the past three years, leaving it in the weakest state in its history. While there are few paths to recovery — and mounting challenges to its stranglehold on power — the military has managed to stay afloat so far in the face of an expanding revolution against its rule. What are the factors threatening its viability? And what is holding it together? While there is no single explanation, a critical factor is its culture of internal loyalty cultivated over decades of military rule.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

Transnational crime groups in Southeast Asia, hit with intense scrutiny and law enforcement action earlier this year, are moving into new areas and adapting their operations as they revive and expand global scam operations. In Myanmar — a key center of this internet-based criminal activity — extreme political instability combined with the connivance of the country’s military and its militias continue to provide fertile ground for crime groups, albeit in new configurations. At the same time, a sudden shift in China’s posture toward Myanmar’s military regime has eased pressure on the scam industry, allowing criminal networks to further scale up their malign activities.

Type: Analysis

Economics;  Global Policy;  Human Rights