• contact@ij-reportika.com
Ij reportika Logo

Category: ASEAN

INTERVIEW: ‘North Korea could have 300 nuclear warheads within 10 years’

Editor016 mins

Ankit Panda, an expert on North Korea’s nuclear program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was interviewed by Radio Free Asia regarding Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions and how its capabilities might be improved through North Korea’s support of Russia in its war with Ukraine. Panda, a Stanton senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at Carnegie, also said that North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, very likely can be used to attack an American city, and that Pyongyang might have as many as 300 warheads within the next 10 years. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. RFA: If North Korea were to launch an ICBM at the U.S. right now, do you think the U.S. would be vulnerable? Ankit Panda: That’s a good question. First of all, would North Korea launch an ICBM? Probably not — it would be essentially suicidal. There’s no reason for North Korea to attack the United States unprovoked. But the technical question that you asked, “Can North Korea essentially detonate a nuclear warhead over an American city?” — the answer to that question in my view is very probably yes, and that’s a carefully chosen phrase, “very probably yes.” The North Koreans, the reliability that they have is probably a lot lower than what the United States has, but it’s probably sufficient for the purposes that Kim Jong Un seeks which is to deter the United States. The only question that Kim has to ask himself is, “In a serious crisis or a war between the United States and North Korea, would an American president be worried that if the war got out of control, American cities could be vulnerable to nuclear attack?” And I think the answer there is absolutely. RFA: But can’t the United States intercept North Korean ICBMs with its missile defense system? Panda: The U.S. has a very limited homeland missile defense capability. We have a total of 44 interceptors that are capable of destroying incoming ICBMs. These interceptors are actually deployed in Alaska. There’s 40 of them in Alaska and four of them in California at Vandenberg Air Force Base. These are designed to deal with North Korean ICBM threats. But it gets a little complicated here because it’s not that there’s 44 interceptors, which means the U.S. can defend against 44 North Korean ICBMs. Probably the U.S. would look to use 3 to 4 interceptors against one incoming ICBM reentry vehicle. And so then if you’re in North Korea, you have a solution to this problem, right? You build more ICBMs. And so that is where the North Koreans have gone. I would argue that that is a chance that would be very difficult for an American president to take — this idea that the North Koreans could launch ICBMs and our interceptors might not actually work. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Workers’ Party General Secretary Kim Jong-un after signing the ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement’ at the Kumsusan State Guest House in Pyongyang in June 2024.(Yonhap News) So we know from Ukrainian intelligence that there has been change in the KN-23s. … They used to be very inaccurate when they were first used. And it turns out there was a report in December 2024 that the precision has improved significantly, and that is a very, very important milestone for the North Koreans because — especially if they do want to deploy tactical nuclear weapons — precision of the missile system matters quite a bit because the yield of the weapon is a lot lower, the yield being the explosive power. And so if you’re trying to leverage those types of tactical nuclear weapons for maximal military utility–let’s say you want to hit an airfield in South Korea that has F-35s that you can’t deal with once they take off, so you have to destroy them before they take off. You really need to make sure that the the yield of the weapon and the precision of the missile match essentially in terms of the mission that you’re trying to accomplish. And so I really think that we shouldn’t underrate the ways in which North Korea’s missile transfers to Russia are very directly augmenting Kim Jong Un’s nuclear ambitions and strategy. RFA: When we talk about North Korean involvement in Ukraine, experts and officials say that North Korea is getting from Russia food or other kinds of support, but regarding missile technology, what does Pyongyang need that Moscow can give? Panda: The area where I think the Russians can really help them is with guidance computers, cruise missile maneuvering, cruise missile control and potentially even countermeasures, other types of ways in which to just improve the reliability of North Korea’s manufacturing standards for missile systems. So all of that, I think will will happen is probably happening in some form space launch technologies, too. I think the Russians will be very, very eager to to help the North Koreans out. That has been the most public facing component of technical cooperation. RFA: As North Korea and Russia grow closer, is there a possibility that Russia will recognize North Korea as an official nuclear state? Panda: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has pretty explicitly said that Russia no longer views North Korea as a nonproliferation concern. Essentially, you know, since the early 1990s, the major powers China, Russia, the United States and Japan, South Korea, the European Union, the whole world has seen North Korea as a nonproliferation problem. They’re the only country to have signed the Nonproliferation Treaty, left that treaty and built nuclear weapons. So it matters how you deal with North Korea for that reason. But it also matters in a big way that the North Koreans are really presenting unacceptable nuclear risks, in my opinion, to the United States and its allies, and so that demands a focus on risk reduction. President Donald Trump and North Korean General Secretary Kim Jong Un meet in Singapore on June 12, 2018.(Yonhap News)…

Read More

Thailand considers building a wall on its border with Cambodia

Editor04 mins

BANGKOK – Thailand is considering building a wall on part of its border with Cambodia to tackle illegal crossings, particularly by gangsters involved in online scam centers and drug smugglers, a government spokesman said on Monday. There was no immediate comment from Cambodia on the proposal but the neighbors have a long-standing and bitter dispute over part of their 817 kilometer (507 miles) land border, and another dispute over their maritime border that has stymied the exploitation of offshore gas reserves. “The prime minister directed the cabinet and relevant agencies to further study the idea of erecting a wall between Thailand and Cambodia to prevent illegal crossings and travels of call-center gangsters as well as the drugs and contraband trades,” Thai government spokesman Jirayu Huangsab told reporters. Thailand, at China’s urging, has been cracking down on call centers over its border in eastern Myanmar, which researchers say are responsible for extensive financial fraud around the world and for trafficking in people to work in the centers. Cambodia is also home to call-center operations, including in its western border town of Poipet and the southern seaside town of Sihanoukville. Jirayu mentioned the possibility of putting up a wall in the area opposite Poipet. He said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra floated the idea of a wall amid reports that scammers from Myanmar were migrating to Poipet, and Thailand planned to discuss the idea with Cambodian authorities. “The foreign ministry and the defense ministry shall coordinate with other relevant agencies and talk with Cambodia on how to make it, if we would, and what the result will be – will it solve problems?” Chinese pressure on its Southeast Asian neighbors to tackle the scam centers has also led to Cambodian action. Over the weekend, Cambodia repatriated 119 Thai nationals following raids in Poi Pet. RELATED STORIES EXPLAINED: What are scam parks? Residents: Scam center workers smuggled into Cambodia via the Mekong River Hun Sen, Cambodia’s powerful former prime minister, complained that Cambodia was not getting the credit it deserved for its action against the scam centers. “Countries on the border with Thailand, including Cambodia, have also tried to suppress the same thing,” Hun Sen said in a post on Facebook on Saturday. “Sadly, Thailand’s success is considered by some journalists and politicians as a failure of neighboring Cambodia,” he said. “The crime story is not over, it continues to be scandalous, which requires intergovernmental cooperation to be done effectively.” Edited by Mike Firn We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Read More

Homemade banana chips brings in tourists to rural Cambodian village

Editor03 mins

Dozens of families in Cambodia’s Battambang province have developed a thriving side business: selling bags of homemade banana chips to foreign and Cambodian tourists. Wives and children in Battambang’s Kdol Daun Teav commune earn extra money by slicing up bananas, laying them out to dry on bamboo skewers and then selling them as snacks to people who travel to the area to visit Wat Ek Phnom, an Angkor-era temple. Making the banana chips requires patience, according to Nuon Chamnan. It takes a long time to peel bananas, and some days she has to peel and slice bananas until midnight to meet orders. “Sometimes there are so many foreign visitors and then there are no leftovers for other customers,” she said. A journey to Wat Ek Phnom is a popular day trip for people staying in Battambang town, which is about 9 km (5 miles) away from Kdol Daun Teav, where residents grow rice and gather fish from the Sankae River. Over the last few years, word has gotten around that tourists can see the traditional livelihood of Cambodian villagers while also buying a unique snack. Nuon Chamnan said she slices about 50 bananas a day, and can make about 50,000 riels (US$12.50) in sales. The business doesn’t require much of an upfront investment – just a lot of work, she said. “It’s not like we do it with machines,” said another banana seller, Khun Srey Lek. “We use our hands to do it normally, so it’s not tiring,” she said. “We just do it from morning to night, so we do it lightly, like a house chore.” Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Read More
Propaganda on Xinjiang and Uyghurs

Uyghurs in Thai prison ‘heartbroken’ to learn friends deported

Editor07 mins

Follow the story on Investigative Journalism Reportika Thailand’s Court Weighs Petition to Free Detained Uyghurs Thailand Faces Backlash Over Plans to Deport 48 Uyghurs to China BANGKOK – Four ethnic Uyghurs held in a Thai prison cried when they learned that 40 of their friends had been deported to China after being held for more than a decade in a Thai immigration lock-up, a friend of the men said on Friday after visiting them. Thailand deported the 40 Uyghurs to China on Thursday, ignoring warnings from the U.S., the U.N. and human rights groups that they risked torture when they were returned to the northeastern region of Xinjiang, which they fled more than 10 years ago. “When they learned that their 40 friends had been sent to China, they were heartbroken,” a 37-year-old friend of the detained Uyghurs, who asked to be identified as just Marzeryya, told us. “They cried, something they had never done before, because they are so worried about their friends,” she said. There are five Uyghurs in Bangkok’s Klong Prem prison where they were sent after trying to escape. Marzeryya said she met four of them on Friday. It was not clear why the five were not also sent back to China on Thursday. Thailand has defended its deportation of the 40, saying it had received an “official request” from China and sent them back after assurances from the “highest level” of the Chinese government on their safety. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, in her first public comment on the deportations that threatens to create a rift with old ally the U.S., rejected any suggestion Thailand had sent the men back in exchange for some commercial reward from China, adding they had volunteered to go. “This is about people, not goods. People are not merchandise. We definitely did not trade them,” she told reporters. “I confirm that they returned voluntarily. Otherwise, there would have been dragging. There was no dragging, they walked up normally,” she said, referring to their transfer from Bangkok’s main immigration detention center to a flight back to China. Mostly Muslim Uyghurs in China’s vast Xinjiang region have been subjected to widespread human rights abuses, including detention in massive concentration camps. China denies that but U.N. experts said on Jan. 21 the Uyghurs in Thailand would likely face torture if forced back to China and they urged Thailand not to deport them. Trucked at night to airport The 40 were taken in the dead of night in trucks with windows blocked with sheets of black plastic, escorted by police cars and under a media blackout, to Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport for the flight home. Marzeryya rejected the suggestion that they had gone back voluntarily. “Why would they want to return to China when they fled from there because they had no freedom and couldn’t practice their religion? That’s why they’d never want to go back,” she said. Marzeryya said none of the five in prison wanted to go to China. “They don’t want to return. They begged us to pray that they would be relocated to a third country,” she said. Chalida Tajaroensuk, director of the People’s Empowerment Foundation, also visited four of the imprisoned Uyghurs on Friday. “They confirmed that they don’t want to go to China, they want to go to a third country,” Chalida told BenarNews. “They said they had already escaped from China, so why would they want to go back? This contradicts what the Thai government has said.” Another three ethnic Uyghurs are still being held at the Bangkok immigration detention center. They have Kyrgyzstan passports and so were not sent to China, Chalida said. The 48 Uyghurs were part of a cohort of more than 350 Uyghur men, women and children, who left China in the hope of finding resettlement abroad and were stopped and detained in Thailand in 2014. Turkey accepted 172 of them while Thailand sent 109 of them back to China in 2015, triggering a storm of international criticism . Several of them have died of illness over the years. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative ReportsDaily ReportsInterviews Surveys Reportika

Read More

EXPLAINED: Thailand’s repatriation of 40 Uyghur refugees to China

Editor08 mins

Thailand’s decision to deport 40 Uyghurs back to China after languishing in a Bangkok detention center for over a decade raises concerns about their fate — and questions about what they were doing there in the first place. What is known about the Uyghurs sent back to China from Thailand? The men originally came from the Xinjiang region of northwestern China where 12 million Uyghurs live under Beijing’s harsh rule. Many have been subjected to human rights abuses and detained in concentration camps that Beijing says are vocational training centers. In 2014, the men were part of a larger group of Uyghurs who tried to escape Xinjiang through Thailand, but were caught. Ever since, they have been held at the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok, a prison-like facility. After more than 10 years, on Thursday 40 Uyghur men were taken in trucks to Don Mueang International Airport to be deported to Xinjiang. Police officers patrol in the old city in Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang region, May 3, 2021.(Thomas Peter/Reuters) Why are Uyghurs trying to escape from China? Uyghur Muslims chafe under what they view as Chinese colonialism in their ancient homeland and resent curbs on their religion and culture under China’s drive to Sinicize ethnic minorities. While tensions have simmered for decades, a major turning point in the Uyghurs’ relations with the Communist government in Beijing was deadly unrest in July 2009 in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi. A Uyghur protest against racism and mistreatment spiraled into three days of communal violence between Uyghurs and Han Chinese that left at least 200 people dead and 1,700 injured. Beijing responded with severe and escalating repression, including mass surveillance, a “strike hard” crackdown since 2014 – the year the 40 deported Uyghurs were arrested in Thailand. The campaign featured arrests, separation of children from their parents, and destruction of mosques and other key elements of Uyghurs’ distinct cultural and religious identity. In 2017, Chinese authorities began detaining Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims en masse in what Beijing called “re-education” camps and prisons set up to eradicate religious extremism. Millions underwent political indoctrination and some were subjected to forced labor, torture, rape and the sterilization of women. Many Western nations condemned well-documented acts of repression under the crackdown as genocide or crimes against humanity. Some states imposed sanctions to block the import of products made in Xinjiang with forced labor. RELATED STORIES Thailand deports 40 Uyghurs to China despite fears of torture Visiting Xinjiang, Xi Jinping doubles down on hard-line policies against Uyghurs China pushes the ‘Sinicization of religion’ in Xinjiang, targeting Uyghurs What is the likely fate of the repatriated Uyghurs, based on past examples? The United States, United Nations and human rights group fear that the men will be tortured and subjected to forced labor as punishment for attempting to flee. Thailand said that it agreed to the deportation only after receiving assurances from Beijing that they would be unharmed. But what little is known about previous batches of Uyghurs forcibly repatriated to China appears to justify the fears expressed by critics of Thursday’s rendition. In December 2009, Cambodia deported 20 Uyghur asylum-seekers back to China. Last December, in the first word about them in 15 years, a relative of one of the detainees in Turkey revealed to Radio Free Asia the fate of some of the 20. Ayshemgul Omer, who had maintained contact with fellow relatives of the deported detainees, told RFA Uyghur they were sent to prison after a secret trial a year after their return. Four individuals were sentenced to life imprisonment, four others were given 20 years, and eight others received 16- or 17-year jail sentences, she said. Omer said her seriously ill relative serving a 20-year sentence still had to perform labor in prison, while one woman, who was later released, had a miscarriage in detention due to torture that included electric shocks and being left nearly naked in a cold jail cell. The main immigration detention center in Bangkok on Feb. 26, 2025.(Jerry Harmer/AP) What leverage does China hold over countries like Thailand to enforce its demands? Although Thailand is a long-standing treaty ally of the United States, like most Southeast Asian nations it has become increasingly reliant on Chinese trade and investment, and has close diplomatic and security ties with Beijing. The mostly authoritarian governments in the region share policy alignment and political preference with Beijing. Thailand, whose post-pandemic economic performance has lagged behind many of its ASEAN competitors, largely depends for growth on China. China is the largest source of tourists and has been a top foreign investor in Thailand, while Chinese are the largest foreign purchasers of Thai real estate. Neighbor states Cambodia and Laos have largely staked their economic and political futures on close official relations with China, receiving major infrastructure investment under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Cambodia hosts a Chinese-funded naval base at Ream that the People’s Liberation Army Navy visits, and has blocked even ASEAN statements on the South China Sea at the behest of Beijing. Edited by Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Read More

Myanmar insurgents strike in junta-dominated central area: NUG

Editor04 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Pro-democracy fighters and allied ethnic minority insurgents have captured a string of military positions in central Myanmar, the latest setbacks for the junta that has lost control of about half the country, a parallel government in exile said on Thursday. The allied insurgent forces captured seven military camps in the Bago region, on the old main road between the former capital, Yangon, and Myanmar’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, the National Unity Government, or NUG, said in a statement. The NUG, set up by supporters of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said eight junta soldiers were killed in the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday by fighters from a pro-democracy People’s Defence Force, or PDF, and ethnic Karen fighters. One PDF member was also killed, the NUG said and it warned civilians that more attacks were coming. “The People’s Defense Forces will be stepping up military operations, so the public is advised not to visit military council units or checkpoints,” it said. The loss of territory in such a central area will be a set-back for the military which is also under major pressure in Rakhine state, in the west where ethnic Rakhine insurgents are closing in on a major hub for Chinese port and energy investments on the coast. The military, which seized power in a 2021 coup, has been pushed back in most parts of the country since late 2023 and is struggling to recruit soldiers to fill the ranks of the army. The junta has not released any information on the fighting in Bago. RFA tried to telephone junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment but he did not answer. In the Sagaing region, to the north of Bago, pro-democracy fighters captured a broadcasting station for the military-owned MRTV on Wednesday, the NUG said, adding that 11 junta soldiers were killed in that attack. It did not release information on its casualties in that attack. The Ministry of Defense said it responded to the Sagaing attacks with airstrikes and artillery support. Political analyst Than Soe Naing said while the attacks in junta-dominated heartland areas this dry season were significant, it would take bigger battles and more time “to dismantle the junta.” Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. . We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Read More

Battling a dictatorship, building a democracy

Editor02 mins

The rainy season had just passed when we made the difficult trek to eastern Myanmar last year to see how rebel troops were managing in the fourth year of war. We interviewed dozens of people over the course of three weeks – doctors and nurses from Yangon trying to adjust to life in the jungle and a group of young men and women working to build a kinder, friendlier police force with few resources. We met smiling fighters who despite being low on ammunition were managing to hold off major advances by military forces, and civilians trying to bring a sense of normalcy to the makeshift camps they had to flee to. We witnessed pain and suffering, as well as resilience, determination and uncertainty over what’s yet to come. As one person told us: “We cannot claim what will be tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. We just live, day-by-day.” We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Read More

Myanmar military bombs insurgents attacking key Chinese investment area

Editor06 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese Myanmar’s military bombed insurgents attacking the cornerstone of China’s investment in the country on Wednesday, killing some civilians, residents said, as the rebels pressed on with an offensive on the west coast township of Kyaukpyu. The Arakan Army, or AA, is one of Myanmar’s most powerful insurgent groups and has nearly achieved its objective of defeating the forces of the junta that seized power in 2021 across the whole of Rakhine state. “This morning, the Arakan Army launched heavy weapons at the Dhanyawadi navy base, and there was also shooting,” resident Nay Soe Khaing told Radio Free Asia, referring to the main navy base in Kyaukpyu. “The military returned fire with a fighter jet and there were civilians killed when the plane dropped a bomb,” he said. More than 1,000 civilians had fled the area, Nay Soe Khaing and other residents said, adding that civilian casualties were hard to pin down because communications were mostly severed. RFA tried to telephone the AA spokesperson, Khaing Thu Kha, and junta spokesperson Hla Thein for information on the situation but neither responded by the time of publication. The AA, which draws its support from the state’s ethnic Rakhine Buddhist majority, has captured 14 of Rakhine state’s 17 townships, defeating the military in battle after battle since late 2023 in a stunning advance. Kyaukpyu, one of the insurgents’ last big targets in the state, is on a natural harbor in the northwestern corner of Ramree Island, about 250 miles northwest of the commercial capital Yangon. Besides its natural deep-sea harbor, the area has access to abundant oil, natural gas, and marine resources. China plans a deep-sea port in the Kyaukpyu special economic zone, or SEZ, as a hub for its Belt and Road development strategy. Oil and natural gas are already flowing from Kyaukpyu terminals to southern China’s Yunnan province, giving China an alternative route for its oil imports in case of conflict in the South China Sea. The AA launched their push on Kyaukpyu on Feb. 20 and the military has responded with attacks from the air and from naval vessels at sea. RELATED STORIES Arakan Army closing in on capital of Myanmar’s Rakhine state Myanmar adopts law for foreign firms to provide armed security EXPLAINED: What is Myanmar’s Arakan Army? Heavy battles expected Another resident said major fighting was expected. “The Arakan Army is surrounding all the military camps,” said Tun Kyi. “After they surround them, we know the battles are going to really intensify. So we can say the battle to capture Kyaukpyu has started.” China has not commented on the latest fighting but it has tried to mediate in Myanmar’s conflict. On Friday, the junta and Chinese-owned CITIC Group discussed development in the Kyaukpyu economic zone and the company’s deep sea port, according to the Ministry of Information. But Kyaukpyu resident Htein Kyi, who closely monitors development plans, said it was unrealistic to even think about the various business contracts given the security situation. “With all the trouble and instability, it’s simply impossible to implement such large-scale projects,” he said. The AA already controls nine of the 11 Chinese development projects in Rakhine state, the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar said in a report in January. While Chinese projects have faced disruption and delays in various parts of Myanmar, anti-junta forces have generally not set out to destroy facilities. On the contrary, some groups have promised to protect Chinese investments and personnel. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Read More

Flights between Australia, New Zealand diverted because of Chinese drills

Editor04 mins

Several commercial flights between Australia and New Zealand had to divert on Friday because of a live-fire exercise conducted by Chinese warships, according to media reports. The Associated Press quoted Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong as saying that Canberra had warned international airlines flying between the two countries to beware of the Chinese live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea. Commercial pilots had been informed of potential hazards in the airspace. Several international flights had been diverted as a result, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported without giving details. It was not clear if the exercise had finished. The Chinese military has not commented on it. The Tasman Sea between southeast Australia and New Zealand.(Google Maps) A Chinese navy task group, including the frigate Hengyang, cruiser Zunyi and replenishment vessel Weishanhu, is believed to have conducted the live-fire exercise. The Australian airline Qantas and its budget affiliate Jetstar had adjusted some flights across the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, media reported. Australia’s Civil Aviation Authority and the air traffic control agency Airservices Australia “are aware of reports of live firing in international waters,” the latter said in a statement quoted by Reuters news agency. Although the live-fire exercise was observed in international waters, airlines with flights over the area were still advised to take precaution, it said. RELATED STORIES Australia protests to China about ‘unsafe’ aircraft maneuver over Paracels China calls Australia’s DeepSeek ban ‘politicization of technological issues’ Six countries join naval drills amid tension with China Short notice China had only notified Australian authorities about the exercise off the coast of New South Wales state earlier on Friday, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “We will be discussing this with the Chinese, and we already have at officials’ level, in relation to the notice given and the transparency, that has been provided in relation to these exercises, particularly the live fire exercises,” Wong was quoted as saying. The Chinese task group has been operating near Australia since last week. On Thursday, the Australian defense department said the Chinese ships were spotted 150 nautical miles (276 kilometers) from Sydney, well inside Australia’s exclusive economic zone. Some naval vessels were deployed to monitor the Chinese warships’ movements, given they were just exercising freedom of navigation under international law, the department said. Some Australian analysts warned of the Chinese navy normalizing its presence and power projection overseas but Chinese media dismissed those concerts as “hype”, saying it was a normal part of the navy’s far seas drills. Edited by Mike Firn We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Read More

China repatriates 200 citizens from Myanmar scam centers amid crackdown

Editor08 mins

MAE SOT, Thailand – Two hundred Chinese nationals were due to be flown to their homeland on Thursday in aircraft laid on by their government after leaving online fraud centers in an eastern Myanmar district on the border with Thailand, Thai officials said. The Chinese people were brought on buses, 50 at a time, from Myanmar’s Myawaddy district, over a border bridge to the Thai town of Mae Sot, and then taken to a nearby airport for their flight home, witnesses said. “Myanmar authorities and the Border Guard Force have brought Chinese nationals to the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, and are handing them over to Thai officials,” Maj. Gen. Maitree Chupreecha, commander of the Thai military’s Naresuan Task Force, told reporters. “A total of 200 people will be repatriated today in groups of 50 every two hours,” he said. It was not clear if the people being flown back to China were organizers of the online fraud that has proliferated in recent years in Myanmar and other parts of Southeast Asia, or were victims of human traffickers and forced to work in the centers defrauding people online and over the telephone. A first flight left Mae Sot bound for China shortly before noon and three more were due to leave through the day. More flights to China are due on Friday and Saturday, taking more than 1,000 Chinese people home, Thai officials said. Thursday’s flights were the latest in a series of actions over recent weeks aimed at ending the scam center operations that have flourished largely unimpeded in different parts of Southeast Asia for several years. The scamming, known as “pig butchering” in China, involves making contact with unsuspecting people online, building a relationship with them and then defrauding them. Researchers say billions of dollars have been stolen this way from victims around the world. Huge fraud operation complexes are often staffed by people lured by false job advertisements and forced to work, sometimes under threat of violence, rescued workers and rights groups say. Researchers have said governments and businesses across the region have been enabling the operations by failing to take action against the profitable flows they generate. RELATED STORIES China pushes Thailand to act on cross-border scam centers EXPLAINED: What are scam parks? Myanmar militia hosting scam centers says it will deport 8,000 foreigners Thousands of victims But that has changed in recent weeks amid a blizzard of bad publicity triggered by the kidnap and rescue last month of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was lured to work one of Myawaddy’s fraud operations. The growing public alarm across Asia about kidnapping and forced labor threatened to damage Thailand’s tourist industry and forced China to insist on action by authorities in its southern neighbors to crack down. China’s Assistant Minister of Public Security Liu Zhongyi visited Thailand in late January to focus efforts to combat the call center operations and the human trafficking that supplies their labor force. Thailand took its most decisive action ever against the fraud networks on Feb. 5, cutting cross-border power and internet services and blocking fuel exports to the Myanmar scam zones. The Myanmar junta also stopped fuel shipments to the Myawaddy district controlled by an ethnic minority militia force that is allied with the military government. The ethnic Karen militia that controls Myawaddy and has been hosting and profiting from the online fraud operations said last month it was going to stop fraud and forced labor and send back thousands of the people who have been working in the centers. A Thai activist group, the Civil Society Network for Victim Assistance in Human Trafficking, which has been helping scam center victims, said it has identified at least 2,000 people from more than a dozen countries forced to work at defrauding people around the world. But many thousands more people are believed to be still in the scam centers, in eastern Myanmar and beyond. A Thai member of parliament and head of its National Security Committee said it was important to gather as much information as possible from people being brought out of the scam centers to identify the kingpins and end their operations once and for all. “We need to gather information,” legislator Rangsiman Rome told reporters. “We must verify if they are victims or criminals and whether they know who is behind the call center gangs. This information is crucial for dismantling the transnational crime syndicates,” said Rangsiman. Edited by Mike Firn. RFA Burmese Service contributed to this report. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news organization. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Read More

Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0