Australia, Thailand to Strengthen Cooperation on Transnational Crime

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (R) and Prime Minister of Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul pose for photographs during a signing ceremony at Australian Parliament House in Canberra Australia, on Aug. 19, 2026. Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty ImagesAustralia and Thailand have reaffirmed their cooperation in the fight against transnational crime in both the physical and digital realms.Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is visiting Canberra, where he has met with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.Law enforcement agencies from both countries are working together to crack down on drug, illegal tobacco and human trafficking, as well as cybercrime, financial fraud and money laundering.Such efforts were essential to a “peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” the leaders said in a joint statement.The two countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation between their law enforcement, customs, immigration and financial intelligence agencies to disrupt criminal networks, financial flows and supply chains.The two leaders also acknowledged the close relationship between Thai authorities and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), as well as Australia’s support for Thailand’s Anti Cyber Scam Centre (ACSC).“Supported by AFP Operation Firestorm, this cooperation has contributed to a significant number of arrests and the disruption of a substantial number of scam centres across Southeast Asia,” the statement said.Last year, five Australian nationals were arrested as part of that operation in a raid on a major scam operation in a Bangkok “boiler room”—a base of operations where scammers use hundreds or even thousands of devices to run online schemes to defraud their victims.Then, earlier this year, authorities discovered fake offices of various nations’ police—including the AFP—near the border with Cambodia.Fraudsters were using the offices as part of a scheme to trick people into paying them money under threat of arrest, deportation or physical harm.Australia and Thailand also agreed to establish a biennial defence ministers’ meeting, further strengthening defence cooperation.Thailand participated in Australia’s 2025 Talisman Sabre military exercise alongside 18 other countries.The prime ministers also issued a joint statement on deepening economic engagement, committing to expand trade and investment in agriculture and food, clean energy, critical technologies and the digital economy. They also pledged closer cooperation on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.Australia is backing Thailand’s application to join the OECD, and the two countries already cooperate through a number of agreements,Two-way trade between Australia and Thailand reached approximately $32.4 billion (US$22.9 billion) in 2025, placing Thailand fourth among Australia’s Southeast Asian trading partners and 11th overall.That figure is nearly triple what it was before the two countries signed the Thailand–Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) in 2005.