Myanmar has pledged to collaborate with Thailand in combating transnational call center gangs, according to Thai Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong.
Participants at the fifth Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Digital Ministers’ Meeting in Bangkok agreed that online fraud and call center gangs are urgent problems and require a concerted effort to tackle, he said.
The DES Ministry has made agreements with several countries to address the problems, but these pacts provide only a framework and need concrete measures for effective enforcement, he added.
Prasert said call center gangs operating along the Thai-Myanmar border were also discussed and his Myanmar counterpart pledged to bring the issue to his government’s attention.
Recent cases involving Chinese nationals being lured to Thailand on false pretenses and then taken across the border to the notorious scam centers of Myawaddy have been widely publicized in China, creating new challenges for Thailand.
Prasert said his ministry intended to regularly follow up on the issue with Myanmar to monitor progress.
The ministerial meeting also discussed various frameworks for cooperation including cybersecurity, cross-border data exchange, and joint development of the digital economy.
The theme of this year’s meeting was “Secure, Innovative, Inclusive: Shaping Asean’s Digital Future”, a reflection of ASEAN’s commitment to building a safe digital environment. This includes responding promptly to online threats and cybercrime, developing new innovations and technology and ensuring equal access to technology.
The participants also endorsed the Bangkok Digital Declaration, which will serve as a guideline for how ASEAN members could and should work more closely together in preventing and tackling online crimes.
Prasert said that Thailand signed two agreements at the meeting.
The first was a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia to foster cooperation in various areas including digital platform services, creating access to digital technology, cybersecurity and suppression of online fraud.
The other involved an MoU with the Philippines to promote investment in digital infrastructure, good governance in e-government and development of emerging technologies like cloud computing and big data.
Cybersecurity would also be promoted through an exchange of knowledge, expertise and joint training.
Key partners such as China, Japan, South Korea, India, the United States and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) also joined talks aimed at promoting digital standards and cooperation.
The sixth ministerial meeting will take place in Vietnam next year.
This article first appeared in The Bangkok Post.
