China, Myanmar, Thailand reach consensus to eradicate telecom fraud centres

BEIJING (Reuters) -Officials from China, Myanmar, Thailand reached a consensus on eradicating telecommunication fraud centres in Myanmar on Tuesday during a meeting in the Chinese city of Kunming, said China's national broadcaster.

At the same meeting, authorities from Myanmar, China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to arrest leaders of criminal syndicates, dismantle telecom fraud centres, and "make every effort" to coordinate the rescue of those trapped there, according to CCTV.

China has recently stepped up its rhetoric on cracking down on online scams following a series of cases, including one involving a Chinese actor who went missing near the Thai-Myanmar border.

Last week, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Southeast Asian countries to take strong measures against online gambling and telecom fraud in a rare meeting with the region's envoys in Beijing.

Since 2023, Myanmar has deported 53,388 Chinese nationals involved in online fraud without taking legal action, citing "existing friendly relations and humanitarian grounds", the country's embassy in Beijing said on Tuesday.

"The Myanmar government is not encouraging online gambling businesses, but rather cracking" down on it, the embassy said in a statement, calling for collaborative efforts from neighbouring countries to eliminate scam groups.

(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen, Ethan Wang and Ryan WooEditing by Bernadette Baum)

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