" On a par with the “super drug traffickers” threat, human trafficking is giving Southeast Asian countries a big headache with the recent death of 39 Vietnamese nationals while trying to enter Britain being the latest case in point. The Asean Post quoted the United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2019 as stating that in the case of Vietnam, traffickers typically subjected their victims to forced labour in construction, fishing, agriculture, mining, logging and manufacturing sectors. They are primarily trafficked to Angola, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. Taking into account the wider Asian region, the Asia Pacific is in fact facing the biggest problem when it comes to human trafficking. According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index by the Walk Free Foundation, it is estimated that 25 million people are trapped in modern slavery in the region, accounting for 62 per cent of the global total. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen urged Asean to cooperate with China to tackle the human trafficking issue, according to a report from The Khmer Times. “Human trafficking, exploitation of labour, sex trafficking, child labour and organ trafficking are serious crimes. It is necessary for Asean and China to pay attention and work together to prevent them,” he said..."