Southeast Asia (Page 6)

Beijing and Bangkok are attempting to stop Chinese citizens from conniving and kidnapping them in Thailand, which is making Foreign citizens anxious to cancel their travels to this increasingly violent and dangerous country.

In January, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said,” I have instructed safety companies to raise the level of protection for visitors.” Two prominent Chinese disappeared in Thailand and emerged from Myanmar. ” Tourism is the region’s main source of income. I don’t want it to become affected”.

In a failed attempt to persuade Ms. Paetongtarn to give money to Hong Kong, scammers also imitated President Donald Trump’s words.

Organized crime gangs from China reportedly influence Thailand’s interior ministry, police, and immigration department to find long Thai visas, invest in property, work nightclubs, marriage Thais, smuggle drugs, and use this somewhat easygoing Southeast Asian country as a sensual sanctuary, officials said.

Americans are estimated to have lost US$ 3.5 billion to” China-origin criminal networks” operating internet scams from Southeast Asia during 2023, the Washington-based US Institute of Peace ( USIP ) said.

In a report on Southeast Asian transnational crime with a focus on Chinese-dominated transnational crime, USIP stated that” the United States and China are ] the two most severely affected victims of the online scamming industry.”

To people the unlawful computer call centres in Myanmar, innocent Chinese and other countries are lured to Thailand by offers of high-paying work including accommodation, food, and other perks, according to Chinese officials.

After the survivors arrive, they are supposedly grabbed, smuggled over the frontier, and enslaved in heavily guarded materials, they say.

In Myanmar, people are forced to use the internet to steal people abroad through elaborate “pig butchering” schemes known as” sha zhu pan,” which are carried out in length, elaborately, “pig butchering” schemes.

Scammers con people into giving them money to gangs by luring them to simple profits, genuine passionate love, or different rewards.

Most scam locations are in Myanmar, a war-torn region also known as Burma, but some are even in Cambodia, Laos and abroad.

In Myanmar, they are hard to shut down because swindlers are based in places held by minority cultural rebels fighting for independence or freedom along France-sized Myanmar’s eastern, northern, and western boundaries.

They are supposedly protected by crime and bribes in Cambodian cities like Sihanoukville and Poipet, and they are based there.

According to prosecutors and safety personnel, the majority of the operations are carried out by Chinese groups with bases in China. The figures of swindlers and victims are astounding.

” Over 70, 000 suspects were arrested and more than 160 patients were rescued during the joint Activity Seagull by Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam between August and December 2024″, China’s government-controlled Global Times reported on January 21.

In Myanmar,” the 30-some-odd compounds which are there, are all trafficking people and keeping people enslaved”, USIP Burma ( Myanmar ) country director Jason Tower said in an interview in July.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn, however, declined to name the unusual leader’s speech which scammers faked in a January telephone call to her.

Her parents, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said the group cloned President Trump’s tone. ” The tone was very clear, and I recognized it immediately”, Paetongtarn said according to CNN. The scammers “probably used Iot to fake the words”, she said.

” They second sent a message tape, saying anything like,’ How are you? I want to work up,’ and so on. They sent another speech message asking for a payment, saying,’ You are the only state in ASEAN that hasn’t donated still,’ emphasizing it. I was taken aback for a moment before I realized something was wrong.

Online scams are now a serious threat to both individuals and the public’s confidence in the digital economy, which necessitates concerted efforts to combat, she said following the phony phone call.

A charming female scammer allegedly demanded money from Thailand’s deputy prime minister and interior minister Anutin Charnvirakul by claiming that he had exhausted his credit card and needed to transfer funds to maintain its validity.

” She had a nice voice, so I talked with her for about an hour. I guess she didn’t know who I was,” Anutin, who also oversees the police, said on January 16.

When Chinese actor Wang Xing vanished across the border into Myanmar on January 3 and fled to Thailand, his well-known case frightened fans and Chinese tourists, giving Thai and Chinese security officials a new urgency.

They found Wang four days later appearing gaunt, with his head freshly shaved, along the Thai-Myanmar border at Mae Sot town. He reportedly told authorities that he voluntarily flew from China to Bangkok to meet a Chinese man who had promised Wang an acting position in Myanmar.

Instead, he was forcibly trafficked to Myanmar, and he allegedly faced enslavement at a con artist’s house before being freed in vain.

The]Thai] prime minister said on January 13 that despite the discovery of the Chinese actor who vanished in Myanmar, this incident had an impact on Chinese tourists ‘ confidence, according to a spokesman for the government of Thailand Jirayu Huangsub.

” Following Wang’s rescue…a group of over 400 netizens in a WeChat]app] group in China were also discussing how to rescue their relatives,” Global Times reported on January 9.

Yang Zeqi, a Chinese model, vanished on December 29 while on a trip to Tak province in western Thailand, where he had been offered a job in a movie production along the Thai-Myanmar border. Yang reappeared to China a month later without giving a formal account of his ordeal.

” The general public must be vigilant, strengthen their own safety precautions, and avoid blindly trusting offers of high-paying jobs overseas to avoid falling into scams and telecom fraud traps,” China’s Public Security Ministry warned.

Chinese robberies or disappearances in Thailand also result in significant financial losses for Thais.

Tourism accounts for almost a fifth of all employment in this Southeast Asian nation, which suffers from uneven development and income inequality, and accounts for about 12 % of gross domestic product ( GDP ).

In January, senior Thai police met with Thai Embassy officials in Bangkok to plan searches for their fugitives in Southeast Asia.

The problem of Chinese scammers using Thai territory is also being tackled by Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office, the National Cyber Security Agency, the Thai Bankers ‘ Association, mobile telephone operators and others.

Beijing has spent years offering economic, military, and diplomatic support to Bangkok, and the two nations share close multi-generational bonds.

” We will handle this issue with care to minimize impact on tourism,” Thailand’s Tourism Minister Sorawong Thienthong said.

Thai tourism officials have been tasked with monitoring Mandarin-language social media for news, gossip, and chatter about Chinese tourists in Thailand and their experiences.

The Association of Thai Travel Agents reported that the news has been significant in China.

Due to recent safety concerns involving Chinese citizens and fans visiting Thailand, Hong Kong singer Eason Chan Yik-shun canceled his February 22 Bangkok concert, according to his management.

Chinese criminals who travel to Thailand have also committed significant, audacious robberies.

For example, a Chinese man and woman flew into Thailand on last year, stole a US$ 28, 000 diamond and gold bracelet from a Bangkok shop, and flew out of Thailand two-and-a-half hours later.

A wealthy Chinese businessman was targeted by a gang of Chinese armed with knives and weapons in August, tied him up in his lavish Bangkok residence, and forced him to deposit$ 2 million in cryptocurrency into their account.

A Chinese crime thriller film titled” No More Bets “in 2023 portrayed a Chinese couple trafficked to an unnamed Southeast Asian country’s scam center to commit cybercrimes.

Due to the horror of the film, there were only 3.5 % of Chinese tourists to Thailand in the year due to a real decline in the number.

Thai officials expressed their concern about” No More Bets” to the Chinese ambassador to Thailand, Han Zhiqiang, emphasizing none of the crimes depicted in the film occurred in Thailand.

Cambodia and Myanmar banned the movie over fears that it would damage their respective nations ‘ reputation among tourists and foreign investors because Cambodia and Myanmar have many of the most illegal connivancement locations.

Chinese criminals, meanwhile, are diversifying and experimenting with artificial intelligence and other high-tech.

According to the state news agency China Daily,” The fraudsters have sped up creating new schemes to trick people of all ages, engaging in different professions, and having different academic backgrounds.”

” They are using emerging technologies, such as blockchain, virtual currency, and artificial intelligence to upgrade their tools, “it said, reporting an international crackdown by China’s Public Security Ministry.

Since 1978, Richard S. Ehrlich has been a foreign correspondent reporting from Asia from Bangkok. Excerpts from his two new books”, Rituals. Killers. Wars. &amp, Sex. — Tibet, India, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka &amp, New York “and” Apocalyptic Tribes, Smugglers &amp, Freaks “are available here.

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US President Donald Trump has been somewhat restrained in his statements regarding his top rival China in the wake of a burst of professional orders, business battle bluster, and colonial ambitions.

Trump has stated that the goal of his foreign policy is to avoid conflict and end existing problems while portraying himself as a “peacemaker.” In a social media post a few hours before his official opening, Trump said,” President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the planet more peaceful and safe. I anticipate that we will work together to address some issues. &nbsp,

That and other conciliatory gestures, such as an executive order to halt TikTok’s ban and a delay in imposing threatened 60 % tariffs on all Chinese goods, are evoking the possibility that Trump will create a new” Monroe Doctrine” order that will allow China to consolidate its hold on East Asia. &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp,

That, in turn, is raising issues of possible withdrawal among America’s front allies in the Pacific, not least in the Philippines, which has played a vital role in the outgoing Biden administration’s prolonged punishment plan vis-a-vis China. That included granting access to significant Spanish military installations close to Taiwan and launching the powerful Typhon missile system from Philippine soil.

Former Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who played a key part in Manila’s traditional 2016 mediation success at The Hague on its promises versus China in the South China Sea, stated in a recent press meeting,” We don’t really know what Trump did do… The US has been an isolationist country half in history [before World War II ]… and they can end up isolationist again, [that is fear], ] that Trump did agree to divide the world.

” What if tomorrow Trump says we can’t blame China for invading]the ] Spratlys]in the South China Sea]. We have to strengthen our defensive capabilities, we have to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines. We can only rely on ourselves, according to the influential magistrate at this week’s UTAK Forum in Manila.

Carpio is not alone. Other well-known Philippine political figures have voiced their concerns, including former Senator Antonio Trillanes, who developed close relationships with the newly appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the turbulent Rodrigo Duterte era.

Trump is “very unpredictable, nothing is in stone,” he said of Trump in a recent interview, while also expressing hope that more traditionally-minded cabinet members like Rubio will carry the load in keeping America’s crucial alliances in Asia. A mutual defense agreement between the US and the Philippines mandates that Washington be prepared to defend Manila in the event of an armed conflict.

Trump’s Beijing-friendly rhetoric may very well indicate a radical reorientation in Washington’s international relations and a significant thaw with China, in addition to the appointment of so-called “restrainers” who seek to restrict US military involvement in key defense positions.

In response, the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government is cutting back on defense spending and actively diversifying the Philippines ‘ strategic alliances with nations outside of America in the Indo-Pacific. &nbsp,

&nbsp,” We are not dependent on a single partner or ally. Even in our own resupply missions]in the South China Sea] we do things independently despite offers of help from our ally]America]. We are modernizing, strengthening our alliances, and upscaling our personnel…and deepening our integration and interoperability with like-minded nations”, the Armed Forces of the Philippines ( AFP ) spokesperson, Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla, said at the UTAK forum. &nbsp,

She continued, highlighting the Philippine strategic elite’s  anticipation of potential geopolitical disruptions and highlighting that” we are not dependent on one particular nation and we are expanding our strategic relationships with other like-minded powers who also share our interest in upholding a rules-based international order.”

In historical terms, &nbsp, Trump’s foreign policy approach is not unique and in many ways represents the latest iteration of the so-called” Jacksonian” tradition. &nbsp, According to historian H W Brands, this school of policy thought is,” ]t ] he most militant]tradition ] …their aim in fighting has been American victory, not the salvation of the world…. Their only concern is the fervent defense of American values and freedoms abroad.

It’s telling ^that Trump openly and frequently praises ^the early-19^th century, swashbuckling president Andrew Jackson, whose portrait hung in Trump’s Oval Office, as&nbsp,” an amazing figure in American history — very unique]in ] so many ways”. Crucially, a host of Jacksonian figures have joined Trump’s second administration, wi^th some occupying key positions in ^the Pentagon.

Andrew Byers, formerly an obscure nonresident fellow at Texas A&amp, M University, co-authored a piece in which he openly advocated for quid pro quo with China at the expense of the Philippines in the name of” strategic restraint” just months before his appointment as the Department of Defense’s new deputy assistant secretary for South and Southeast Asia.

” If Trump wins a second term, the intra-party policy debate between neoconservative primacists, China hawks, and ‘ America First ‘ conservative realists will be decided, provided that this time he hires people who agree with his views”, Byers wrote, predicting a major shift in American foreign policy under a second Trump administration.

In response, he has argued for the negotiation of a” cooperation spiral” with China, whereby the US unilaterally “removes US military forces or weapons systems from the Philippines in exchange for the [ Chinese Coast Guard ] executing fewer patrols ]in the South China Sea.”

Byers has been joined by other similar-minded individuals, including Michael Dimino, the newly appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, who has publicly backed American strategic repression in critical theaters.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man seen by some as a” shadow president”, has been running parallel diplomacy with America’s adversaries in recent weeks. Through his Tesla automaker company, Musk, who is known for having comparatively sympathetic views toward Russia, has more importantly established important commercial ties with Beijing.

Top Filipino strategists, including former Admiral Rommel Ong, have publicly warned about a potential push for a Sino-American grand bargain, harming smaller allies like the Philippines.

” ]Musk ] has substantial investments in China so he might swing it the other way ]especially in the event of a crisis], that is my concern … we have to accept he has influence on policy”, he told the author.

Senior Filipino officials also maintain a cautious optimism about the Philippines ‘ strategic resilience and the bilateral alliance.

At the recent UTAK forum in Manila, National Security Council ( NSC ) spokesman Jonathan Malaya pointed out how the Philippines is a trustworthy and proactive partner capable of winning over even a transactionalist White House.” It may be too early for us to speculate,” he said. &nbsp,

” We have shown to the US that we have been ramping up our defense spending ,]we have developed ] a very clear comprehensive archipelagic defense concept]to protect our waters ] … if we follow the logic]of Trump’s call for ] NATO to do its part … we are also doing the same”, he added, underscoring the positive trajectory in upgrading the bilateral alliance in recent years.

Malaya argued that bilateral defense cooperation won’t fundamentally deteriorate under the recent US State Department 90-day aid freeze, which, “my understanding is that it doesn’t cover defense cooperation, but primarily USAID and development-related projects.”

” All their projects here are aligned with Trump’s vision of making the US more secure”, he added, expecting more continuity than change under a second Trump presidency. At the same forum, Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela expressed similar sentiments.

” He can say whatever he wants, but key cabinet members ]are reassuring ] and America is a mature democracy where institutions will ensure the US will remain as an anchor of a rules-based international order”, argued Tarriela, who has been at the forefront of Manila’s” Transparency Initiative” focused on exposing and countering China’s aggression in the South China Sea.

&nbsp,” Our fight in the]South China Sea ] is for]anybody ] who wants to preserve a rules-based international order … that’s why many countries are working with us”, he added, underscoring the Philippines ‘ diverse network of partners in Europe and across the Indo-Pacific beyond America.

Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X at @Rich Heydarian

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Since 2009, the BRICS has grown to become a major international force at a summit in Russia. What began as a five-member party encompassing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is today expanding with the inclusion of five new people and eight new partner places. In the upcoming times, yet more nations may be a part of the EU.

This expansion raises important questions about whether the BRICS may challenge the dominance of traditional power like the US, UK, and European Union.

Analysts are also unsure of how united the union actually is and whether a perception of division prevents the bloc from expanding. BRICS is truly different:

• Saudi Arabia and Iran square off as local forces in the Middle East.
• Egypt and Ethiopia have had various wars around the Nile’s management.
• The conflicts between China and India are also known.

However, the strength of the bloc may be in its ability to assemble this diverse group of nations that are not fully integrated. In these times of growing fragmentation, building soft international institutions may be the key to navigating global politics.

The current conflict between the US and China may be viewed from a different perspective. The conflict between the nation’s two largest economy is likely to grow in the upcoming times, influencing the current world order. China’s statement of a record US$ 1 trillion industry deficit for 2024 and its robust 5 % economic growth support the idea that its development model is an alternative to US-sponsored liberal policies that have dominated the world for the past four decades.

Democratic leaders and economic elites around the world are closely monitoring the US-China conflict, and the majority of nations attempt to maintain an adjacent strategy. Brazil and Peru are two of the main nations that have traditionally been in the US sphere of influence, but they have since been slowly orienting toward China because of the financial opportunities the Asiatic large offers. Another recently in China’s circle, such as Vietnam, are working to preserve or increase their relations with the US.

China is definitely the force that keeps the BRICS together. Without China, it wouldn’t have come into existence. All BRICS places share two essential qualities:

• They are World South nations, not a traditional dominant group.
• They have considerable economic ties with China, particularly through trade relationships.

Belt and road

The standard BRICS tale emphasizes globalism, assistance and fair global development. However, the organization serves mainly as a platform from which China can work its influence and power. China accomplishes this through the use of the union as a unique industry platform in line with the Belt and Road Initiative, both rhetorically and through practice.

BRICS seeks to place itself as an alternative to US ideology, promoting free trade and internationalism. This tale serves as a powerful endorsing tool for the group worldwide in times of political turmoil and the development of reactionary forces.

However, the group’s diversity also poses major difficulties as it attempts to compete with the US-led world order. It’s unlikely that the BRICS will develop into a single military force like NATO or a free trade area like ASEAN or the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement ( previously NAFTA ). The team’s variety prevents it from acquiring these features.

China is aware of this and effectively makes use of the BRICS to expand its business opportunities and global influence. It strikes a good balance between a shaky ally and a more hardened military or economic empire. Contrary to way during the Cold War era, when the two nations, the US and the Soviet Union, had well-defined spheres of influence, the current world order appears to be shaped by shed, interconnected global alliances.

Beijing’s prominence within BRICS is distinct and unlikely to change. China accounts for two-thirds of both the team’s GDP and intra-BRICS business. The state is the main business lover for Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran. China even makes major purchases in those countries. With an accumulated investment of more than USU$ 10 billion, Russia is the largest victim of Chinese foreign direct investment within the BRICS.

The majority of BRICS part states are even directly or indirectly involved in Belt and Road. It is true that the main Belt and Road jobs are not occurring in the BRICS nations but rather, rather, are occurring in Central, South, and Southeast Asia. But Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Iran also sponsor Belt and Road activities. Brazil has become a crucial partner because of its position as a major food vendor to China, despite not being an official Belt and Road representative.

The statistics show that expanding Brics is one of China’s overseas policy objectives. The nation uses the organization to venture both intellectual and financial influence. Donald Trump’s plan to implement trade tariffs on many places, including China, is likely to enable China to deepen this coverage. There is a strong chance that the most recent incident with Colombia, in which the US senator reportedly threatened to impose taxes if Colombia continued to protest imprisonment flights, will encourage more nations to get closer trading associations with China.

Strategic connections

Some analysts properly identify the polarization of the BRICS between those who favor non-aligned states and those who favor stability. The anti-Western team, led by Russia, favors a confrontational attitude toward the US while the non-aligned nations, such as Brazil and India, favor a more nuanced view.

Experts suggest that the US should try to influence interior BRICS debates by establishing closer ties with non-aligned nations. However, this ignores the fact that China is not only the de facto leader of the BRICS but also has a clear preference for a subtle view of the West based on multilateralism and free deal. It’s therefore unlikely that the BRICS may adopt a confrontational attitude toward the West despite what Russia may need.

China is aware that a non-confrontational strategy is the best way to draw more nations and strengthen the BRICS as a free group that supports more democratic global leadership.

Thus far, this approach appears to be working.

Gabriel Huland is a training fellow in the School of International Studies, University of Nottingham.

This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original post.

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