Beijing has stepped up pressure on Phnom Penh over the rise in missing Chinese nationals believed to be trapped in cyber fraud centers in Cambodia, an issue now seen as a serious threat to relations between the two allies.
In an official statement on WeChat, China’s Ambassador to Cambodia, Wang Wenbin, urged the Cambodian government to take stronger action against the illegal industry after several missing Chinese nationals were reported in recent days.
He stressed that the activity contradicts the traditional friendship between China and Cambodia.
According to the United Nations (UN), at least 100,000 individuals are estimated to work in a network of scam syndicates in Cambodia.
Initially targeting Mandarin speakers, the operations have now expanded to other languages, costing victims tens of billions of dollars in losses worldwide each year.
More worryingly, many of the individuals involved are not voluntary criminals, but rather victims of human trafficking who are forced to work under threat of violence and abuse.
In response, China has stepped up its efforts to hunt down the masterminds of the fraud syndicate in Southeast Asia.
Cambodia recently extradited Chinese-born tycoon Chen Zhi, who is accused of running an internet scam center, to stand trial in China.
However, Amnesty International has accused the Cambodian government of deliberately ignoring human rights abuses that have taken place in the cyber syndicate’s operations, raising questions about the extent of Phnom Penh’s commitment to addressing the crisis.
