Kuala Lampur, Feb. 17 -- Japan's decision to fund Southeast Asian efforts against cross-border crimes is not a minor development in regional cooperation.

It is a signal that the patience of Asia's middle powers is wearing thin.

Tokyo has pledged more than five hundred million yen in grant assistance to strengthen investigative capabilities in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. The focus is clear: dismantling transnational scam syndicates that have metastasised across mainland Southeast Asia.

For years, these criminal networks have exploited weak borders, uneven policing standards and legal loopholes between Asean states.

The result has been an industry of deception - online fraud, call-centre scams, human trafficking and forced lab...