Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow met Wednesday to coordinate a unified response against the “industrial-scale” online scam operations and human trafficking networks currently destabilizing the region.
The bilateral talks, held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Cebu City, focused on the rapid expansion of fraudulent “scam farms” along the Thai border and across Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
These facilities have increasingly targeted and victimized Filipino and Thai nationals through forced labor and cyber-enabled fraud.
“I had a productive meeting with FM Sihasak, where we exchanged candid views on the situation in Myanmar and the Cambodia-Thailand border, as well as on other regional issues, particularly online scams and other transnational organized crimes,” Lazaro said in a statement on X.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported that an undetermined number of Filipinos remain trapped in these compounds.
Many were originally lured by promises of high-paying, legitimate jobs before being trafficked into scam operations.
In addition to security cooperation, the two officials discussed the escalating border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia and the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.
Both ministers reaffirmed that ASEAN must maintain a central role in resolving these conflicts to ensure regional stability.
The meeting follows recent warnings from Thai authorities regarding the evolution of these crimes, which now include AI-powered deepfake calls and sophisticated cryptocurrency schemes.
The DFA continues to urge Filipinos to follow legal employment procedures through the Department of Migrant Workers to avoid falling prey to illegal recruitment syndicates.
