24-1-2025 (BANGKOK) Thailand and China have announced plans to establish a groundbreaking joint operation centre in Bangkok to tackle the growing menace of fraudulent call centres proliferating along Thailand’s borders with Myanmar and Cambodia.
The Royal Thai Police confirmed yesterday that the new coordination hub, scheduled to commence operations next month, will be housed at the national police headquarters in Bangkok. In a parallel development, Chinese authorities are preparing to launch a separate operational base in Thailand’s Mae Sot district, strategically positioned opposite Myanmar’s Myawaddy, a notorious epicentre for telecommunications fraud.
“This collaborative initiative will target criminal networks operating sophisticated scam operations, particularly those involving Thai and Chinese nationals,” a senior police spokesman told reporters at a press briefing following high-level talks between Thai and Chinese security officials.
The development comes amid mounting regional concern over Southeast Asia’s emergence as a hub for telecommunications fraud since the COVID-19 pandemic. The United Nations has documented the trafficking of hundreds of thousands of individuals into these criminal enterprises, with particular concentration in the border regions connecting Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.
The urgency for action has intensified following several high-profile cases, including the recent cross-border rescue of Chinese celebrity Wang Xing from Myanmar. Earlier this week, officials from China, Myanmar, and Thailand convened in Kunming, China, where they reached a mutual agreement to dismantle fraud centres operating in Myanmar.
The Myanmar military government claims to have repatriated 55,000 foreign nationals from scam compounds between October 2023 and January 2025, with Chinese citizens accounting for approximately 53,000 of those rescued.
Responding to Myanmar’s suggestions of neighbouring countries’ involvement in these operations, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai emphasised the transnational nature of the challenge. “This is not a Thai issue in isolation,” he stated. “It requires coordinated action from Myanmar and China as well.”
