Last weekend, the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia informed that a series of recent disappearances of Chinese citizens and being accused of being involved in online scams posed a "serious obstacle" to bilateral relations.
The statement said that Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin called on Phnom Penh to strengthen the crackdown on online fraud during a meeting with Cambodian ministers.
China is extremely concerned about some recent cases involving Chinese citizens missing or disappearing in Cambodia" - Ambassador Wang Wenbin emphasized.
Most cases related to Chinese citizens are related to online fraud, he informed.
The top Chinese diplomat in Phnom Penh also added that these things "do not fit the traditional friendship between China and Cambodia".
The Cambodian government affirms that it is cracking down on online fraud. Online fraud involves at least 100,000 people in this Southeast Asian country, according to United Nations data.
Initially, online fraud mainly targeted Chinese speakers, but then transnational criminal groups expanded their operations to many languages to steal tens of billions of USD each year from victims around the world.
The perpetrators of the scams may be intentional fraudsters or they may also be foreigners who are trafficked, trapped and forced to work under violent pressure.
In recent months, China has stepped up the pursuit of key figures in the online scam sector across Southeast Asia for trial in China.
Phnom Penh has expelled Chinese-origin fraud boss Chen Zhi, who is accused of operating online fraud centers in Cambodia, to China this month.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that online scams have caused damage of up to 37 billion USD in East Asia and Southeast Asia in 2023.
