Eyes without borders: surveillance tech and the rise of authoritarianism in the Indo-Pacific

Global Watch | 2025-08-14

In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, a young activist was arrested just days after attending a protest. He hadn't posted online, hadn't spoken to the media -- yet authorities located him using newly installed facial recognition cameras.

The arrest wasn't coincidental; it was enabled by a growing network of surveillance infrastructure quietly spreading across the Indo-Pacific.

Governments throughout the region are rapidly adopting advanced technologies like facial recognition, spyware and mass metadata collection tools.

Marketed as tools for public safety and national security, these systems are increasingly being used to silence dissent, intimidate civil society and erode human rights -- often without the public's knowledge.

A growing web of surveillance

The proliferation of surveillance technology in the Indo-Pacific is driven largely by foreign exports.

Chinese firms such as Hikvision, Dahua, Huawei and ZTE dominate the market, offering subsidized or state-supported packages under the guise of development or "Safe City" initiatives.

Israeli spyware firms, including NSO Group (known for its Pegasus software), and various Western companies also contribute, often through subsidiaries or shell entities.

In Cambodia, Huawei's Safe City system has installed thousands of high-definition surveillance cameras. Activists and opposition leaders report a chilling effect, in which peaceful protest leads to swift arrests.

In Myanmar, infrastructure built by Chinese firms prior to the 2021 coup was co-opted by the military to identify protesters and monitor journalists.

Meanwhile, Vietnam now operates one of the most comprehensive surveillance networks in Southeast Asia, using artificial intelligence (AI) and facial recognition to track online activity and dissent.

Soft power, hard consequences

This technology is often transferred through direct government deals, low-interest loans or bundled development contracts.

In many cases, data collected by these systems is stored on foreign servers or managed by external contractors, giving exporting nations leverage over local intelligence operations.

Surveillance-as-a-service is becoming a new form of digital colonialism -- embedding foreign influence in the domestic affairs of smaller or less-developed nations.

Legal protections for personal data across much of the Indo-Pacific are weak or nonexistent.

In places like Sri Lanka, national security laws have been used to justify biometric data collection, but civil rights organizations warn of growing overreach.

In the absence of oversight, surveillance is becoming an invisible weapon against free speech and political opposition.

Resistance and the road ahead

Civil society groups are fighting back.

Digital rights organizations like Access Now and DigitalReach Asia provide security training, monitor tech deals and advocate for stronger privacy laws. Meanwhile, countries like Australia and Taiwan are pushing for international standards on surveillance tech exports.

But the fight is uphill. Surveillance tech is profitable, politically expedient and often invisible to those not directly affected -- until it's too late.

What's happening in the Indo-Pacific is part of a broader global trend -- but the stakes here are uniquely high. With billions of people and several fragile democracies, the region stands at the crossroads of technological progress and authoritarian regression.

Surveillance technology, when unchecked, doesn't just observe -- it controls. As these tools spread, so too does the need for urgent international attention, oversight and resistance.

Because in a world of invisible eyes, silence is complicity.