00:00Transnational crime could worsen if the instability in Myanmar continues.
00:16This is what Dusit Manapan, an advisor to Thailand's foreign minister, told FMT on the
00:21sidelines of the 46th ASEAN Summit at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center.
00:27I think the root cause is the problem, oracle problem in Myanmar.
00:35If we are going to find a sustainable solution on this, we need to address the root cause.
00:46Otherwise we will continue to have this kind of problem.
00:50After online scams, you will have drug trafficking, you will have weapon threat, you know, some
00:57other things, you know.
01:00He said these criminal activities along the Myanmar border stem from the government's
01:04limitation to enforce law and order along the border.
01:08We have tried to stop these criminal activities by, you know, by not providing some kind of
01:19some resources, electricity, fuels, you know, and internet.
01:24But our measures, our hard measures are partly successful.
01:29At the end, at the end of the day, they can fight, you know, some to replace what they lost
01:41from other, you know, from other sources.
01:44The political crisis in Myanmar began with the February 2021 military coup, which ousted
01:50the elected government and triggered widespread armed resistance.
01:54As the conflict escalated, large parts of the country have become lawless zones exploited
01:59to operate scam centers, drug routes, and arms trafficking networks with little interference.
02:06In 2023, the United Nations found that East and Southeast Asia collectively lost up to 37 billion
02:12U.S. dollars to cyber-enabled fraud.
02:17Narmatha Raja, FMT
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