bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Authorities in Vanuatu have arrested six Chinese nationals following complaints from authorities in China that they were operating an internet scam from the Pacific island, media reported on Saturday.
Chinese law enforcement officials arrived in Vanuatu soon before the late Thursday raid in which the six were detained, and helped identify the premises in the capital, Port Vila, from where they were suspected of running the scam, the Vanuatu Daily Post reported.


Reuters was unable to confirm the report or contact Vanuatu police on Saturday. The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some or all of the suspects are reported to hold dual citizenship in China and Vanuatu.
The arrests came at a time of concern in some quarters about growing Chinese influence in the Pacific.
The United States and its ally, Australia, are particularly wary of Chinese diplomatic and economic inroads in the region.
US official urges Pacific island nations to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan
In April, Vanuatu and China denied media reports that China wanted to build a permanent military base in the island nation.
In May, President Xi Jinping told the visiting Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai that China was not seeking a sphere of influence in the Pacific.


US strips moral framing from foreign aid in ‘America first’ pivot

World welcomes 2026 with fireworks, lightshows and hopes for peace

China’s rebuilding of Micronesian airport runway raises alarm in US

US rejects claims of Indo-Pacific retreat, says aid is being recalibrated to counter China

Pacific nations

Six Chinese nationals wanted by Beijing for internet scam arrested on Pacific island of Vanuatu

General view of Vanuatu. File photo: handout

Hong Kong police’s special anti-fraud squad blocked nearly US$90 million in payments to phone and internet scammers in first quarter of 2019

Phone and internet fraud is on the rise in Hong Kong, according to police. This most costly phone scam the police prevented this year would have cost the victim HK$980,000. Photo: Reuters

Malaysia-based African internet scammers target lonely foreigners

Parents of unmarried young women look at photos of young male singles during a matchmaking event at the Expo Park in Shanghai. Photo: SCMP

Afghanistan’s ‘Internet Generation’ fear peace with Taliban

Taliban fighters pictured after a ceasefire on June 16 in Nangarhar province’s Ghanikhel district, Afghanistan. Photo: Reuters

(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 18, 2014 an Afghan woman holds her baby as she and supporters attend the election rally of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah in Jalalabad. Agence France-Presse's chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, was killed April 30, AFP has confirmed, in a secondary explosion targeting a group of journalists who had rushed to the scene of a suicide blast in the Afghan capital. Marai joined AFP as a driver in 1996, the year the Taliban seized power, and began taking pictures on the side, covering stories including the US invasion in 2001. In 2002 he became a full-time photo stringer, rising through the ranks to become chief photographer in the bureau. He leaves behind six children, including a newborn daughter. / AFP PHOTO / Shah MARAI

Zarkhuna Haidary in the bookstore where she works. Photo: Ezzatullah Mehrdad

epa07411343 Afghan security officials present suspected Taliban militants and a recovered heavy machine gun in front of media in Badkhshan, Afghanistan, 03 March 2019. A group of alleged Taliban militants and weapons, including a heavy machine gun, recovered by security officials were presented in front of the media. EPA-EFE/SHARIF SHAYAQ

FILE - This file image made from video released to the Associated Press during the week of Nov. 21, 2015 shows Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, now in his late 60s, in an undisclosed location. The United Nations removed the name of the former Afghan warlord from its Islamic State group and al-Qaida sanctions list. According to a statement posted Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, by the Security Council, a U.N. committee removed Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's name from the sanctions list. (AP photo via AP video, File)

Ahmad Milad Sheva plays guitar in Kabul. Photo: Ezzatullah Mehrdad

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2019 file photo released by Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Special Envoy of the Qatar Foreign Minister for Counterterrorism and Mediation in conflicts resolution, Dr. Mutlaq Bin Majid Al-Qahtanithe, mediates talks between the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, and the Deputy Commander of the Taliban Movement for Political Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in an undisclosed place in Doha, Qatar. The longest direct talks ever held between the United States and the Taliban concluded this week with both sides citing progress toward ending the 17-year war, but many questions remain unanswered. (Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP, File)

33 Chinese arrested in police raid on US$21 million counterfeit cigarette factory

Criminal gang suspected of illegally producing 10,000 cigarettes a day from five bases across the country

A Chinese crime gang is accused of manufacturing about 10,000 fake cigarettes a day for sale across the country. Photo: News.163.com

Vanuatu denies Chinese approach to set up military base

A file picture of a harbour and yachts in Vanuatu. Photo: Handout

News

Asia

Australasia

China

Diplomacy

Law enforcers from mainland China said to have arrived in Port Vila for raid on Thursday in which the suspects were detained, according to local media


Law enforcers from mainland China said to have arrived in Port Vila for raid on Thursday in which the suspects were detained, according to local media.


Crime

Scams and swindles

Six Chinese nationals wanted by Beijing for internet scam arrested on Pacific island of Vanuatu

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Law enforcers from mainland China said to have arrived in Port Vila for raid on Thursday in which the suspects were detained, according to local media

Law enforcers from mainland China said to have arrived in Port Vila for raid on Thursday in which the suspects were detained, according to local media