In mid-March, news circulated online that Chinese President Xi Jinping would visit Cambodia in April. Initially, many were skeptical due to the lack of official confirmation. However, as time passed, more information emerged, suggesting the increasing likelihood of the visit.
Media reported on Monday that Xi Jinping is expected to visit Cambodia next month, and may also visit Malaysia and Vietnam.
Recent Strengthening of Anti-Fraud Efforts in Southeast Asia
Since the beginning of the year, influenced by the Wang Xing incident, several Southeast Asian countries have intensified their crackdown on telecommunications fraud. Particularly, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia have recently taken strong measures, even with the Chinese Minister of Public Security personally urging faster action against telecom fraud at the Thai-Myanmar border.
Myanmar: Since March 1, Chinese and Myanmar police have jointly operated in the Daqi area, arresting a large number of suspects involved in telecom fraud and repatriating them to China in batches, including 1439 people from March 6 to 9, 450 people from March 13 to 14, and 380 people on March 19, involving multiple fraud parks such as Asia City and KK Park.
Thailand: Strengthened border patrols and population checks, and in late March, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha personally went to the Thai-Cambodian border to direct the crackdown.
Cambodia: Since March, the Cambodian government has not only raided fraud dens and arrested suspects but also strengthened measures against smuggling and advanced the revision of criminal law, planning to add new charges related to online fraud to cope with the rapid development of digital crimes.
This series of actions shows that cooperation between China and Southeast Asian countries in combating cross-border crime is continuously deepening.
Possible Objectives of Xi Jinping's Visit to Cambodia
Xi Jinping's visit to Cambodia at this time may have the following main objectives:
Strengthen bilateral relations
Consolidate traditional friendship between China and Cambodia, and advance Belt and Road cooperation projects.
Cambodia is an important partner for China in Southeast Asia, with continuously deepening bilateral trade and investment cooperation.
Deepen security cooperation, focusing on combating telecom fraud
Following Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's visit to the Thai-Cambodian border on March 24 to direct anti-fraud operations, cooperation between China and Cambodia may further escalate.
Recently, China and Cambodia have closely consulted and planned to carry out large-scale clean-up operations in 69 fraud parks in Sihanoukville, including China Town, Jinshui, and Old Mountain Top.
Impact on the Telecom Fraud Industry
The visit could have a significant impact on illegal activities such as telecom fraud and online gambling in Southeast Asia:
Police might involve high-tech tracking, using network signal monitoring tools to pinpoint fraud groups.
If Cambodia fully cooperates with China in the cleanup, the telecom fraud industry might face unprecedented regulation.
However, the complete eradication of the telecom fraud industry chain still faces challenges:
Fraud groups are secretive and operate in a transnational mode, making them difficult to combat.
Some regions in Cambodia still rely on gambling and gray industries economically, and complete regulation may face resistance.
The use of emerging technologies like Starlink makes it harder to track fraud groups, even under Thailand's border policies of cutting off internet, electricity, and fuel, fraud groups are still finding new ways to survive.
Conclusion
The news of Xi Jinping's visit to Cambodia, from initial rumors to more and more information confirming it, shows that the visit is likely to involve security cooperation, especially the escalation of combating telecom fraud. For the telecom fraud industry, the future living space may face more severe challenges. However, considering its complex transnational operation mode, complete eradication still requires long-term efforts.
