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Cambodia

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Cambodia. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Phnom Penh

Head of State

King Norodom Sihamoni

Head of Government

Prime Minister Hun Manet

A Thai solider inspects a workstation inside a scam centre in O’Smach, Cambodia, on Monday. Photo: AP

Scams and swindles

Scripts, bank details and military rules: Cambodian scam compound secrets

Mostly run by Chinese criminal gangs and staffed partly by trafficking victims, these complexes have proliferated across Indochina.

5 hours agovideocam

Singapore

Singapore Airshow: airlines ‘crying out loud’ for planes amid supply crisis

6 Feb 2026 - 11:45PM

Thailand

‘Still handsome’ Abhisit breathes new life into Thailand’s oldest party

4 Feb 2026 - 3:37PMvideocam

South Korea

‘Ruin you’: Cambodians outraged by South Korean president’s anti-scam threat

Critics said Lee Jae Myung should have posted in Chinese, not Khmer, as his warning to foreign syndicates sparked anger across Cambodia.

3 Feb 2026 - 3:53PM

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet shake hands during a summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 25, 2025. Photo: Korea Times

Thailand

Inside an abandoned Cambodian scam centre seized by Thai troops

Fake law enforcement uniforms from nations including China and Singapore were found alongside mock police sets used to intimidate victims.

5 Feb 2026 - 2:02PMvideocam

Crime in China

China moves to boost cybercrime penalties by adding exit ban after sentences

Amid cross-border crackdown, draft Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law bill lists exit bans among tools to punish cybercriminals.

2 Feb 2026 - 10:24PMvideocam

Hong Kong courts

Mainland Chinese student jailed for 3 months for cheating in TOEFL test

Huang Xinyi paid someone else to take test on her behalf in Cambodia and submitted results to Hong Kong’s Lingnan University so she could graduate.

2 Feb 2026 - 7:26PM

Student Huang Xinyi has been sentenced to jail for submitting a fraudulent TOEFL test result in order to graduate from Hong Kong’s Lingnan University. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

China-Asean relations

Nearly 1,800 Chinese among thousands held as Cambodian police raid scam compound

Action ‘truly reflects’ that Cambodian government will never loosen crackdowns on online scammers, interior ministry spokesman says.

1 Feb 2026 - 8:56PMvideocam

South Korea

South Korea forced to act after Cambodian worker’s death in freezing dorm

Seoul has apologised and pledged to improve foreign worker housing following the woman’s death in a makeshift dwelling in 2020.

30 Jan 2026 - 4:01PM

Diplomacy

Base instincts: why US warship visit won’t calm fears over Cambodian port

The USS Cincinnati is the first US warship to dock at Ream Naval Base since its China-funded expansion was completed in April last year.

30 Jan 2026 - 6:10PMvideocam

USS Cincinnati docks at Ream Naval Base’s pier in Sihanoukville on Saturday. Photo: AP

Asean

Just 1 visa to rule them all? How European-style pass could help Asean tourism

While Asean members such as Malaysia and Vietnam have shown strong post-pandemic growth, tourist numbers have lagged in the Philippines.

29 Jan 2026 - 2:41PM

Tourists have fun in the Cambugahay Falls on the Philippine island of Siquijor on December 10 last year. Photo: AFP

India

Nipah cases in India raise regional anxiety but experts say escalation unlikely

The virus’s high fatality rate has prompted precautionary measures across Asia, even as analysts say the outbreak remains limited.

28 Jan 2026 - 8:08PMvideocam

Indonesia

‘Cruellest’ practice: Elephant rides banned in Bali parks over welfare concerns

Asian countries, such as Cambodia and India, have ended commercial elephant rides due to the same concerns.

27 Jan 2026 - 5:49PM

Thailand

Fear of Thai border action steers Cambodia towards UN law of sea after 43 years

Cambodia’s smaller and weaker navy will find safety in numbers and rule of law now that it has ratified Unclos, according to analysts.

27 Jan 2026 - 6:03PMvideocam

A soldier stands guard next to Prasat Ta Khwai on January 20. The temple was the site of clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in December last year. Photo: Reuters

China-Asean relations

Why China was so keen to get to alleged cybercrime boss Chen Zhi first

Young tycoon, who was indicted by the US in October, was extradited from Cambodia this month, accused of running a vast scam network.

26 Jan 2026 - 11:35AMvideocam

2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict

Letters | When conflicts disrupt education, societies lose

Readers discuss education for crisis-affected children, how Donald Trump is reshaping global politics, and the truth about Europe.

24 Jan 2026 - 11:30AM

South Korea

Video | South Korean scam suspects brought home from Cambodia

Seoul continues its crackdown on scam centres in Southeast Asia following the kidnapping and murder of a South Korean student in Cambodia.

23 Jan 2026 - 10:31PM

South Korea

73 South Koreans repatriated from Cambodia face online scam probe

Arriving in handcuffs, the suspects allegedly scammed fellow South Koreans out of US$33 million.

23 Jan 2026 - 10:34PMvideocam

Police officers escort South Koreans allegedly involved in scam operations in Cambodia at Incheon International Airport on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Southeast Asia forced-labour scams

Video | Hundreds of Indonesians leave Cambodian scam centres

Authorities are investigating whether scam workers, many without legal documents, joined voluntarily.

22 Jan 2026 - 5:31PM

United States

Opinion | Why isn’t Trump learning from past foreign policy mistakes?

From Venezuela and Iran to Greenland and Canada, US interventions and threats risk spillovers and retaliation – as history shows.

20 Jan 2026 - 8:30PM

Indonesia

440 Indonesians freed from Cambodia cyberscam hubs in criminal crackdown

Workers seek repatriation after scam operators, fearing police raids and new government measures, abruptly release hundreds of staff.

22 Jan 2026 - 5:35PMvideocam

Two Indonesian men, once trafficked and forced to work as scammers in Cambodia, pose at a window in Jakarta, in October 2025. Photo: AFP

China-Asean relations

China keeps pressure on Cambodia to target cross-border fraud and trafficking

The transnational crimes are a serious barrier to deeper cooperation, Beijing’s envoy says.

17 Jan 2026 - 5:00PMvideocam

A building known as Jinbei 4 was part of a suspected compound built and operated by internationally sanctioned accused scam boss Chen Zhi’s Prince Group, in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Photo: AFP

Thailand

Ruling Thai party vows to end Cambodia conflict, close scam hubs if it wins poll

Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Bhumjaithai’s second candidate after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, believes his party has popular support.

17 Jan 2026 - 3:30PMvideocam

Asean

Visa suspension tests US priorities in Southeast Asia

The move reflects an ‘America first’ policy approach and treats certain allies in the region as ‘strategically insignificant’, analysts say.

17 Jan 2026 - 2:00PMvideocam

2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict

Token gesture? Why US is spending US$45 million on Thai-Cambodian border war

Washington is looking to reposition itself as the main peacemaker in Southeast Asia following Beijing’s mediation successes, analysts say.

15 Jan 2026 - 6:26PMvideocam

Cambodian soldiers repatriated from Thailand receive roses following their release on December 31, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Laos

‘Not the end’: Cambodia keeps up scam crackdown after Chen Zhi sent to China

Phnom Penh signals zero tolerance for scam centres following the deportation of the Prince Group tycoon.

14 Jan 2026 - 7:38PMvideocam

Guards escort accused scam boss Chen Zhi off a China Southern plane in Beijing on January 8, after his extradition from Cambodia. Photo: China’s Ministry of Public Security/AFP

US immigration

At least 4 migrants have died in US ICE custody since start of 2026

Reported deaths occurred in the first 10 days of the year; two of them attributed to ‘heart-related issues’.

14 Jan 2026 - 2:05PM

Thailand

Suspected scam boss linked to South Korean student’s death arrested in Thailand

The arrest follows international outrage over the killing of the university student, which led to a joint Thai–South Korean investigation.

13 Jan 2026 - 8:05PMvideocam

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Cambodia

Scripts, bank details and military rules: Cambodian scam compound secrets

Mostly run by Chinese criminal gangs and staffed partly by trafficking victims, these complexes have proliferated across Indochina.

Singapore Airshow: airlines ‘crying out loud’ for planes amid supply crisis

‘Still handsome’ Abhisit breathes new life into Thailand’s oldest party

‘Ruin you’: Cambodians outraged by South Korean president’s anti-scam threat

Critics said Lee Jae Myung should have posted in Chinese, not Khmer, as his warning to foreign syndicates sparked anger across Cambodia.

Inside an abandoned Cambodian scam centre seized by Thai troops

Fake law enforcement uniforms from nations including China and Singapore were found alongside mock police sets used to intimidate victims.

China moves to boost cybercrime penalties by adding exit ban after sentences

Amid cross-border crackdown, draft Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law bill lists exit bans among tools to punish cybercriminals.

Mainland Chinese student jailed for 3 months for cheating in TOEFL test

Huang Xinyi paid someone else to take test on her behalf in Cambodia and submitted results to Hong Kong’s Lingnan University so she could graduate.

Nearly 1,800 Chinese among thousands held as Cambodian police raid scam compound

Action ‘truly reflects’ that Cambodian government will never loosen crackdowns on online scammers, interior ministry spokesman says.

South Korea forced to act after Cambodian worker’s death in freezing dorm

Seoul has apologised and pledged to improve foreign worker housing following the woman’s death in a makeshift dwelling in 2020.

Base instincts: why US warship visit won’t calm fears over Cambodian port

The USS Cincinnati is the first US warship to dock at Ream Naval Base since its China-funded expansion was completed in April last year.

Just 1 visa to rule them all? How European-style pass could help Asean tourism

While Asean members such as Malaysia and Vietnam have shown strong post-pandemic growth, tourist numbers have lagged in the Philippines.

Nipah cases in India raise regional anxiety but experts say escalation unlikely

The virus’s high fatality rate has prompted precautionary measures across Asia, even as analysts say the outbreak remains limited.

‘Cruellest’ practice: Elephant rides banned in Bali parks over welfare concerns

Asian countries, such as Cambodia and India, have ended commercial elephant rides due to the same concerns.

Fear of Thai border action steers Cambodia towards UN law of sea after 43 years

Cambodia’s smaller and weaker navy will find safety in numbers and rule of law now that it has ratified Unclos, according to analysts.

Why China was so keen to get to alleged cybercrime boss Chen Zhi first

Young tycoon, who was indicted by the US in October, was extradited from Cambodia this month, accused of running a vast scam network.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | When conflicts disrupt education, societies lose

Readers discuss education for crisis-affected children, how Donald Trump is reshaping global politics, and the truth about Europe.

.css-rcruog{color:#C79A00;}Video | South Korean scam suspects brought home from Cambodia

Seoul continues its crackdown on scam centres in Southeast Asia following the kidnapping and murder of a South Korean student in Cambodia.

73 South Koreans repatriated from Cambodia face online scam probe

Arriving in handcuffs, the suspects allegedly scammed fellow South Koreans out of US$33 million.

Video | Hundreds of Indonesians leave Cambodian scam centres

Authorities are investigating whether scam workers, many without legal documents, joined voluntarily.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | Why isn’t Trump learning from past foreign policy mistakes?

From Venezuela and Iran to Greenland and Canada, US interventions and threats risk spillovers and retaliation – as history shows.

440 Indonesians freed from Cambodia cyberscam hubs in criminal crackdown

Workers seek repatriation after scam operators, fearing police raids and new government measures, abruptly release hundreds of staff.

China keeps pressure on Cambodia to target cross-border fraud and trafficking

The transnational crimes are a serious barrier to deeper cooperation, Beijing’s envoy says.

Ruling Thai party vows to end Cambodia conflict, close scam hubs if it wins poll

Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Bhumjaithai’s second candidate after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, believes his party has popular support.

Visa suspension tests US priorities in Southeast Asia

The move reflects an ‘America first’ policy approach and treats certain allies in the region as ‘strategically insignificant’, analysts say.

Token gesture? Why US is spending US$45 million on Thai-Cambodian border war

Washington is looking to reposition itself as the main peacemaker in Southeast Asia following Beijing’s mediation successes, analysts say.

‘Not the end’: Cambodia keeps up scam crackdown after Chen Zhi sent to China

Phnom Penh signals zero tolerance for scam centres following the deportation of the Prince Group tycoon.

At least 4 migrants have died in US ICE custody since start of 2026

Reported deaths occurred in the first 10 days of the year; two of them attributed to ‘heart-related issues’.

Suspected scam boss linked to South Korean student’s death arrested in Thailand

The arrest follows international outrage over the killing of the university student, which led to a joint Thai–South Korean investigation.

Letters | When conflicts disrupt education, societies lose

Video | South Korean scam suspects brought home from Cambodia

Opinion | Why isn’t Trump learning from past foreign policy mistakes?