Thai officials and lawmakers have increasingly framed regional scamming networks as a national security concern, with enforcement heavily dependent on regional cooperation. In public debate, scams have increasingly become politically linked to border security.
Thailand has been aggressively targeting scam operations close to its border, claiming that large compounds and casinos in Cambodian border towns are hubs for online fraud operations that target people globally.
The military has described parts of its border operations as a “war against the scam army,” and the issue has intertwined to intensify mistrust between the two governments, justify certain military actions and affect cross-border cooperation.
For Rome of People’s Party, the clashes have a root cause in the scamming networks that have widely proliferated in Cambodia. That issue is hurting Thais’ feelings of security and their bank account balances, he said.
The opposition is shaking off accusations it is anti-military and as it enters campaigning, is promoting a message that its border policies and anti-corruption drive can reap results.
The People’s Party has made anti-scamming enforcement part of its platform, while arguing that transnational crime syndicates are linked to the broader problems at the border.
“The clashes are not (only creating refugees), they make Thai people feel like they don’t have money anymore and they don’t feel safe to be living in this system,” Rome said.
A Global Anti-Scam Alliance report in 2025 found that 72 per cent Thais have fallen victim to scams, with total annual losses now reaching about US$3.7 billion.
“Thailand right now, we are on the front line. This is not just the armed conflict, but we are the front line to combatting the scam network,” Rome said.
He warned that large amounts of grey money were flowing from Cambodia into Thailand, much of it linked to scam and criminal networks, and that there were reports this money was being used to try to influence or take control of important Thai financial institutions and energy companies — a threat he described as “very serious”.
Any future government will have to better address this issue concurrently with the border tensions, Suranand said.
“It’s an underlying threat, the money laundering, the help in terms of transferring those funds into gold or crypto or whatever is done in Thailand, and there’s a lot of people who are now accused of being involved,” he said.
For their part, Anutin and Bhumjaithai have taken a tough, sovereignty-focused tone towards the Cambodia border dispute, emphasising national defence and protection of Thai citizens.
Anutin has promised to build a wall along the Thai-Cambodian border if Bhumjaithai retains administrative power after the general election, according to Thai media reports.
The role of the military in national affairs is a constant factor in Thailand. There have been more than a dozen coups in Thailand’s modern history, the latest in 2014 when General Prayut Chan-o-cha overthrew the government of Yingluck Shinawatra and installed a military junta.
Analysts agreed that Thailand’s democratic systems and foundations remain somewhat shaky heading into 2026. With political uncertainty lingering, even modest continuity is increasingly seen as success.
“I don’t expect high-quality democracy, but just stability of democracy is enough and no non-democratic power intervening,” said Stithorn.
“I think that that is enough to judge the progress of Thailand’s democracy.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/southeast-asia-outlook-2026-thailand-election-indonesia-malaysia-economy-5764941
