Editing Special economic zone (section)

==Challenges==
SEZs do not differ from other facilities in industrializing economies. As with any technique administered used by a globalized economy there are oversights by actors that are not domestic. Transnational criminal organizations and terrorist groups have taken advantage of Special Economic Zones and their lack of regulations.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA547924 |title=Latin American Special Economic Zones and Their Impacts on Regional Security |language=en |archive-date=10 December 2023 |access-date=10 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210221156/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA547924 |url-status=live }}</ref>

SEZs also pose significant governance challenges. The preferential treatment granted to businesses within these zones can lead to regulatory arbitrage, where companies exploit differences in laws to their advantage, often at the expense of environmental and labor standards. This has sparked concerns about externalities, such as increased pollution and strained public resources, that extend beyond the boundaries of the SEZs.<ref name="The Pervasive Problem of Special Ec"/>

The [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]] (UNODC) has raised concerns several times about Laos being used by organized crime to traffic drugs, precursor chemicals and other illicit commodities, that unregulated border casinos in the Mekong region including Kings Romans are being used to launder money.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Douglas |first=Jeremy |date=2020-08-20 |title=Opinion: Laos is a missing link in Asia’s fight against organized crime |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/19/asia/laos-organized-crime-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific |date=January 2024 |title=Casinos, Money Laundering, Underground Banking, and Transnational Organized Crime in East and Southeast Asia: A Hidden and Accelerating Threat |url=https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/documents/Publications/2024/Casino_Underground_Banking_Report_2024.pdf |access-date=12 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific |date=October 2024 |title=Transnational Organized Crime and the Convergence of Cyber-Enabled Fraud, Underground Banking and Technological Innovation in Southeast Asia: A Shifting Threat Landscape |url=https://www.unodc.org/roseap/uploads/documents/Publications/2024/TOC_Convergence_Report_2024.pdf |access-date=12 May 2025}}</ref> 

In Cambodia, the MDS Heng He Thmorda Special Economic Zone has been reported to house online crime syndicates involved in human trafficking and forced criminality.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liu |first=Mech Dara, Cindy |date=2021-11-17 |title=From Timber to Human Trafficking: Rescued Victims Allege Major Scam Operations in Tycoon’s SEZ |url=https://vodenglish.news/from-timber-to-human-trafficking-rescued-victims-allege-major-scam-operations-in-tycoons-sez/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=VOD |language=en-GB}}</ref> In the Philippines, raids have occurred in the [[Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone|Clark Freeport Zone]], uncovering illegal online crime sites and rescuing hundreds of suspected human trafficking victims.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Inquirer |first=Philippine Daily |title=The Philippines as cyber scam hub |url=https://asianews.network/the-philippines-as-cyber-scam-hub/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=asianews.network |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=DOJ indicts 8 for trafficking in relation to Clark scam hub raid where 1,000 were rescued |url=https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/06/02/2270984/doj-indicts-8-trafficking-relation-clark-scam-hub-raid-where-1000-were-rescued |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Philstar.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=CMS |first=Joann Manabat- |date=2024-07-31 |title=10 Chinese POGO workers rescued in Clark |url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/luzon/chinese-pogo-workers-rescued-clark-freeport-zone-pampanga-july-2024/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=RAPPLER |language=en-US}}</ref> Some border zones that have become deeply entwined with criminal activity have describes themselves as special economic zones, but in reality they have no such legal designation, such as the [[Yatai New City]] complex in Myawaddy, Myanmar.