Narcotics trafficking will increase in South-east Asia

Significance

The ‘Golden Triangle’ -- centred on the tripoint of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar -- has long been a hub for production of illicit drugs. The area is rife with drug cartels.

Impacts

• Regional authorities will continue to make large narcotics seizures but struggle to curb the trade in precursors used in drug manufacture.
• Laos and Cambodia will find it especially difficult to clamp down on drug trafficking, given their limited resources.
• Estimating the scale of drug production in Myanmar will get harder as governance in the country weakens.