House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast and Select Committee Chairman Moolenaar sent a letter to the Department of the Treasury and the Secretary of State, calling for stronger sanctions on foreign personnel associated with Southeast Asian cyber scam centers.
On September 12, 2026, two scholars from Guangdong published a quantitative trade model study in the peer‑reviewed journal Southern Economy. The study estimates that if the United States and China completely sever economic and trade ties, both superpowers would be harmed, while the overall economic gains of most other countries, including Southeast Asia, would increase. The research further notes that these gains are fragile; if those countries also cut economic links with China, the prior gains would quickly turn into losses.
On August 27, a netizen in Leiyang, Hunan, posted on social media that after traveling to Southeast Asia, they were flagged by the local anti-fraud center as a person at risk of involvement in fraud and were restricted from leaving the country, despite having no criminal record and receiving no written notification.
姚诚在老挝发布视频，称东南亚是中国的后花园、习近平一带一路成功，并称中共控制了整个东南亚。