Policing the region to protect the economy: Why Aseanpol must step up

New Straits Times

9 hours ago

THE rise of transnational crime, cybercrime, and unregulated digital spaces is not just a law enforcement problem; it is fast becoming an economic one.
If Asean does not act decisively, the region may well fall into a crime trap — where insecurity, corruption, and illicit networks stunt long-term investment, innovation, and integration.
In this light, the time has come for Aseanpol (Asean Chiefs of National Police organisation) to evolve into an active and coordinated regional policing institution.
The digital economy in Southeast Asia is expected to exceed US$300 billion by 2025, according to studies by Google and Temasek. But this remarkable growth masks an equally dramatic surge in cyber-related crimes.
Ransomware attacks, online fraud, identity theft, and phishing scams are rampant. Meanwhile, transnational syndicates are using Southeast Asia as a playground — trafficking in humans, narcotics, wildlife, and illicit finance — undermining both state authority and investor confidence.
In the absence of robust cross-border law enforcement, criminals thrive. In Cambodia and Myanmar, entire zones have become hotbeds of scam call centres and online trafficking.
In Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, criminals use e-commerce and social media to launder money and exploit regulatory gaps. These illicit economies operate parallel to the formal economy, creating a dangerous distortion.
When lawlessness becomes normalised — whether offline or online — Asean's economic reputation suffers. Businesses hesitate to expand, insurers raise premiums, and digital platforms face regulatory bottlenecks. In short, a region infested with crime cannot be economically resilient.
Aseanpol was formed more than four decades ago. Unlike the European Union's Europol, Aseanpol lacks real-time intelligence-sharing capabilities, permanent staffing, or operational authority.
With no joint task forces, no regionally linked databases, and no synchronised response to cyber or digital crime, Aseanpol is falling behind. It has no mechanisms to coordinate responses to crimes that cross three or four borders in a single day — a common occurrence in our hyper-connected world.
This is not for a lack of need but for a lack of urgency.
It is time for Asean to connect the dots: law enforcement is an economic strategy. In the 2020s, no credible national development plan can ignore how internal and regional security impact gross domestic product. Criminal cartels erode border integrity.
Cyber criminals hollow out digital trust. Human trafficking distorts labour markets and violates the core values of Asean's socio-cultural community.
Yet, regional governments often address these issues in silos. The police do their job. The central banks worry about financial crimes.
Cybersecurity is left to scattered ministries or private firms. Aseanpol must be empowered to connect these dots.
This will require political will and resources. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as chair of Asean in 2025–2026, is well-placed to champion such a transformation.
If Asean can agree on frameworks for digital trade, sustainable development, and rare earth cooperation, surely it can build an architecture to safeguard its citizens and economies from organised criminality and cyber threats.
Begin with three bold steps:
1. Establish a permanent Aseanpol Secretariat, housed in a neutral capital with dedicated officers seconded from all member states;
2. Create an Asean Cybercrime and Criminal Intelligence Centre (ACCI) modelled after Interpol's Singapore-based Global Complex for Innovation. This centre must serve as a real-time nerve centre —not a ceremonial body— to track, analyse and respond to major regional threats; and,
3. Draft a binding Asean Convention on Cross-Border Crime, to harmonise legal procedures, extradition protocols, and evidence-sharing standards across Asean. Without legal coherence, enforcement will always lag.
These steps will not only enhance regional policing but restore confidence in Asean as a safe, stable, and predictable environment for trade and investment. With the looming Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) and Asean Green Deal expected by 2025–2026, secure environments will be indispensable.
Asean's future depends on trust between states, institutions, citizens and their governments. That trust is under siege when crime goes unpunished, cyber fraud is rampant, and regional policing remains fragmented.
Asean can no longer afford to treat law enforcement as a national issue. Crime has become regional. Cybercrime, especially, is borderless. The region's response must match the scale and sophistication of the threat.
Aseanpol must now rise to the occasion as a central pillar in securing the region's economic future.