Prolonged Myanmar crisis spurs drugs, weapons trade, warns Thai official

Free Malaysia Today

26-05-2025

Dusit Manapan, adviser to the Thai foreign minister, speaking during an interview on the sidelines of the 46th Asean Summit and related summits in Kuala Lumpur.
KUALA LUMPUR : Thailand has warned that transnational crime could worsen if the instability in Myanmar continues.
Dusit Manapan, an adviser to Thailand's foreign minister, said that while international attention has largely focused on scam syndicates, Myanmar's political instability brings risks of an uptick in other crimes such as drug trafficking and weapons trading.
He said these criminal activities along the Myanmar border stem from the government's limitation to enforce law and order along the border.
'We have tried to stop these criminal activities by not providing some resources, electricity, fuel, and internet,' Dusit told FMT on the sidelines of the 46th Asean Summit and related summits here.
'But our measures, our harsh measures, are partly successful. At the end of the day, they can find a way to replace what they lost from other sources.'
According to Dusit, aerial surveillance through drones has also been hindered by advanced counter-technology.
'When you cut electricity and the internet, they resort to Starlink and solar cells,' he added.
The political crisis in Myanmar began with the February 2021 military coup, which ousted the elected government and triggered widespread armed resistance.
As the conflict escalated, large parts of the country, especially border areas, have become lawless zones exploited to operate scam centres, drug routes, and arms trafficking networks with little interference.
Dusit said addressing the root cause of scam centres is crucial, as they generate substantial revenue for organised crime.
'Otherwise, we will continue to have this kind of problem. After online scams, you will have drug trafficking. You have weapons trade,' Dusit said.
According to the United Nations, East and Southeast Asia collectively lost up to US$37 billion to cyber-enabled fraud, underscoring the scale of these operations.
Myanmar has become a key hub, not only for online scams but also as the world's largest opium producer, surpassing Afghanistan.
'There are many ethnic armed groups involved. This is a business that makes a lot of money for the groups, so they have money to buy weapons.
'They need to earn some income, so that they can have resources to fight the government,' he said.
The 46th Asean Summit is being held here today and will likely address transnational crimes like online scams at the highest level.
Malaysia, as Asean chair, has called for enhanced legal harmonisation and information-sharing mechanisms among member states to counter growing transnational threats, according to foreign minister Mohamad Hasan's address to the 29th Asean Political-Security Council Meeting.