SOUTHEAST ASIA

7 domains mapped · Code: MM

These are jurisdiction-specific research-progress records. They expose first moves, likely actors, and institutional infrastructure where mapped; they are not a claim that every country has a finished statutory memo for all 61 domains.

Canonical domain beta-W from Mining & Rare Earth Extraction. Local route severity is a country-route triage value and is not used in the aggregate portfolio.

PRIMARY ROUTE:Myanmar's jade industry is largely opaque — estimated at $31B/year but mostly unrecorded. When jade revenue flows are made visible (Global Witness has documented significant flows to military), W becomes computable.

4 actor-lane actions mapped

Canonical domain beta-W from Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. Local route severity is a country-route triage value and is not used in the aggregate portfolio.

PRIMARY ROUTE:Tens of thousands of people, many lured with fake job offers, are held in border compounds around Myawaddy and Shwe Kokko and forced to run online fraud under threat of beatings. The compounds depend on cross-border banking, electricity, fuel and internet that Thailand and China physically control, so the supply chain that feeds the trap can be cut without defeating any armed group inside Myanmar.

4 actor-lane actions mapped

Canonical domain beta-W from Cybercrime and Ransomware. Local route severity is a country-route triage value and is not used in the aggregate portfolio.

PRIMARY ROUTE:Industrial-scale fraud operations in Myanmar's eastern border zones defraud victims worldwide of billions of dollars a year through fake crypto and romance scams, while the proceeds launder back through regional banks and exchanges. Because the fraud requires Starlink links, foreign payment rails and crypto off-ramps that sit outside the compounds, the money plumbing is the actionable point even where Myanmar's central government has no reach.

4 actor-lane actions mapped

Canonical domain beta-W from Illicit Drug Trade. Local route severity is a country-route triage value and is not used in the aggregate portfolio.

PRIMARY ROUTE:Myanmar is the world's leading producer of opium and heroin and the largest source of methamphetamine, with cultivation in Shan State at a decade high as conflict and economic collapse push farmers back to the poppy. Because most growers turn to opium out of rural poverty rather than greed, alternative-livelihood and crop-substitution programs that have worked elsewhere in the region can shrink the supply base if security and market access are restored.

4 actor-lane actions mapped

Canonical domain beta-W from Conflict Minerals and Blood Diamonds. Local route severity is a country-route triage value and is not used in the aggregate portfolio.

PRIMARY ROUTE:Heavy rare-earth mining in Kachin State and tin in Wa-controlled areas funds armed groups and the military while leaching acid and chemicals into rivers that flow into China, and the output feeds global magnet and electronics supply chains. Because almost all of this ore is exported to and processed in China, a single downstream buyer holds enough leverage to impose origin tracing and environmental conditions that would cut the worst actors out.

4 actor-lane actions mapped

Canonical domain beta-W from Deforestation & Industrial Logging. Local route severity is a country-route triage value and is not used in the aggregate portfolio.

PRIMARY ROUTE:Myanmar holds Asia's last large natural teak reserves and has one of the world's highest deforestation rates, with much of the cut moving as illegal exports through China and India that strip watersheds and carbon sinks. Because high-value teak ends up in regulated import markets, buyer-side legality checks already on the books in the EU and US can shut the door on the illegal flow.

4 actor-lane actions mapped

Canonical domain beta-W from Defense Procurement. Local route severity is a country-route triage value and is not used in the aggregate portfolio.

PRIMARY ROUTE:Since the 2021 coup the military has bought aircraft, weapons and jet fuel through opaque networks that route payments via foreign banks, and those arms are used in airstrikes on civilians. Because the procurement depends on foreign suppliers, banks and aviation-fuel imports rather than domestic production, the external chokepoints are reachable even though the buyer sits inside the country.

4 actor-lane actions mapped

© 2026 Erik Postnieks · Independent Researcher · Salt Lake City