OCTOBER 18 — China’s relentless crackdown on cross-border scam centers along the Myanmar border — as reported by Channel News Asia — marks not just a security triumph, but the reaffirmation of moral order in a region long corroded by lawlessness and digital exploitation.
In the rugged borderlands of Shan and Kachin States, where criminal syndicates once trafficked human beings and siphoned billions through crypto scams, Beijing has dismantled the façade of impunity. Over 48,000 suspects have been detained or extradited, exposing how pervasive the rot had become.
This campaign is emblematic of a deeper civilisational commitment — a reminder that legitimate wealth creation cannot coexist with systemic corruption. The collapse of those scam centers restores both moral credibility and economic trust, the twin pillars of stability that undergird Asean–China cooperation. What is at stake now is not merely the elimination of one criminal network, but the preservation of the economic ecology of trust across Southeast Asia.
The architecture of a trusted economic ecology
For Asean and China, the next step must be to weave this moral victory into an enduring institutional framework.
China’s decisive action offers a foundation upon which Asean can strengthen its own internal mechanisms for coordination and governance. A competent and competitive Asean–China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) cannot rely solely on the reduction of tariffs or the expansion of exports; it must be built upon institutional coordination, economic reform, and infrastructural coherence that reinforce one another seamlessly.
First, institutional coordination must deepen between Asean and China through real-time intelligence sharing and the synchronization of law enforcement. By linking Asean’s Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) with China’s Public Security Bureau, the region can track scam networks, financial fraud, and cross-border money laundering with precision. This cooperation should not be reactive, but proactive — anticipating criminal evolution in the age of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
Second, economic reform within the ACFTA must ensure that digital trade is governed by transparency. Asean and China should expand the free trade area to incorporate regulatory oversight of the digital economy, fintech systems, and cross-border tax enforcement.
Economic openness without institutional accountability will only fertilize the return of shadow economies. As financial platforms and e-commerce link millions of consumers, they must also be designed to safeguard ethics and fairness.
Third, infrastructure coherence must complete this architecture. The region’s physical connectivity — the Asean Power Grid (APG) and Asean Trans Railway Network (ATRN) — is the tangible skeleton that will sustain economic vitality. The Power Grid will allow states to exchange renewable energy and stabilize supply, while the Trans Railway will link Singapore to Kunming and further into the Mekong subregion. When coupled with a digitally transparent trade regime, these projects will create an integrated circuit of power, goods, and trust across Asean and China.
Centrality as credibility
Together, these three components form the moral and structural core of Asean Centrality. Centrality has never been about geography or neutrality alone — it is about credibility.
If Asean cannot protect its economies from cybercrime or harmonize its energy and transport grids, it risks losing the very relevance that defines it. The region’s central role depends on its ability to act as a credible connector, one that unites the moral strength of governance with the practical infrastructure of cooperation.
The Asean–China Free Trade Area, strengthened through institutional synergy, transparent reform, and infrastructural connectivity, can evolve into a self-sustaining economic ecosystem. It will link digital integrity with physical mobility, ensuring that prosperity flows through legitimate circuits. Each clean transaction, each watt of shared electricity, and each kilometer of transnational railway will represent not just progress, but moral renewal.
The moral dimension of development
The fight against scam centers also reminds Asean that moral clarity must guide regional development. Corruption, whether digital or political, weakens the connective tissue that binds societies together. China’s campaign demonstrates that moral leadership can coexist with economic ambition; indeed, it shows that ethical discipline amplifies strategic credibility.
Asean’s task now is to match China’s resolve with institutional vigor. A concerted regional approach to transnational crime — integrating the AMMTC, INTERPOL, and national cyber units — can multiply the deterrent effect. At the same time, the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), set for completion by 2025, should be harmonized with China’s digital governance standards to create a seamless corridor of data integrity and trade transparency.
Power, rail, and reform as the arteries of centrality
The Asean Power Grid and Trans Railway Network embody more than energy and mobility — they symbolize Asean’s determination to unite its mainland and maritime subregions into one strategic organism.
If powered by digital trust and institutional accountability, these projects will turn Asean from a market into a moral force. They will reduce economic asymmetry, bridge developmental divides, and reinforce resilience against external coercion.
Without these three arteries — coordinated institutions, reformed trade governance, and integrated infrastructure — Asean’s Centrality would remain aspirational, vulnerable to being overshadowed by competing power blocs. But if Asean embraces this triad as the foundation of its regional order, it can transform moral renewal into sustainable prosperity.
Toward an ethical and connected future
The lesson from China’s border crackdown is clear: moral disorder anywhere in the region threatens prosperity everywhere. The collapse of scam syndicates restores faith in lawful enterprise and reaffirms that regional peace requires moral vigilance. Asean must now translate that lesson into policy — not through endless communiqués, but through enforceable coordination, regulatory modernization, and infrastructural integration.
When ethics, energy, and economy align, Southeast Asia will no longer be merely a crossroads of commerce — it will be a community of trust. The righteous path that China has charted in Myanmar can inspire Asean to reclaim its own moral agency, proving that governance grounded in virtue is not a weakness but the highest form of power.
In this new regional order, Asean Centrality will not be a slogan. It will be an achievement — the product of institutions that coordinate, economies that reform, and infrastructures that connect, all animated by a shared moral compass. Only through this seamless fusion can Asean and China build a future of integrity, stability, and shared prosperity.
* Phar Kim Beng, PhD, is professor of Asean Studies at the International Islamic University of Malaysia and director of the Institute of International and Asean Studies (IINTAS). Luthfy Hamzah is a research fellow at IINTAS.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
