The United States and China are taking parallel steps to combat large-scale online scam operations in Southeast Asia, creating an unusual point of alignment between the two powers despite broader geopolitical tensions.
That is according to analysts cited by the South China Morning Post.
The renewed focus follows Washington’s launch last week of the “Scam Center Strike Force,” a coordinated crackdown on cryptocurrency fraud schemes that US officials say defraud Americans of nearly $10 billion annually.
The initiative targets sophisticated criminal groups operating from compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, where thousands of trafficked workers are allegedly forced to run so-called “pig butchering” scams. The US Justice Department has described these sites as hubs where victims of human trafficking are held against their will and instructed to target foreign nationals, with proceeds laundered through US-based platforms before being moved offshore.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that at least 100,000 people have been trafficked into scam compounds across the region, many of which expanded rapidly after the pandemic. These operations are often co-located with legal businesses, including online gambling, and have evolved into “industrial-scale cybercrime” driven by transnational criminal groups.
Recent international enforcement actions have intensified scrutiny. US investigators have seized roughly $15 billion in alleged criminal proceeds linked to Bitcoin transactions, while authorities in the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong have frozen millions of dollars’ worth of assets. Cambodian conglomerate Prince Holding Group was the latest to draw attention, following asset seizures and allegations that its founder’s wealth was tied to internet-based fraud.
While Washington’s strike force could serve as a framework for broader coordination, analysts quoted by the publication warned against framing the issue as a confrontation with China. The US Justice Department has attributed many operations to “Chinese transnational criminal organizations,” yet both Washington and Beijing have urged Southeast Asian governments to crack down on scam networks. China has also stepped up its own enforcement, including receiving the extradited Chinese-Cambodian gambling figure She Zhijiang from Thailand last week.
Experts say this convergence of interests could open the door to more structured cooperation. Analysts note that Southeast Asian countries endorsed the ASEAN Declaration on Combating Cybercrime and Online Scams in September, committing to stronger law-enforcement coordination and information-sharing mechanisms. They highlight that the US initiative could reinforce these efforts, provided the issue is not politicized.
However, meaningful progress will require addressing governance vulnerabilities in the region. Observers caution that scam operations flourish in places with weak oversight and systems that can be easily manipulated. Without tackling these conditions, they say, Southeast Asia will remain vulnerable to criminal networks that exploit human trafficking and cross-border financial flows.
