Britain is trying to discredit China's policy in the northwestern Xinjiang region, a spokesperson at China's embassy in London said. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday expressed strong disagreement over the repatriation of 40 Uyghurs to China from Thailand.

During Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, one of the main topics of discussion was the proliferation of scam centers close to Thailand’s borders in Myanmar,

The crackdown coordinated among Thailand, Myanmar and China follows Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's visit to Beijing this month, where she told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that Thailand would act against the scam networks that have drawn in hundreds of thousands of people.

Battered and bruised Chinese workers from online scam centres in Myanmar faced an anxious wait to return home, as Beijing and Thailand finalised plans on Wednesday for their repatriation.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday condemned Thailand's return of at least 40 Uyghurs to China, where Washington says members of the Muslim group have faced genocide.

Rights groups and some Western governments accuse Beijing of widespread abuse of ethnic minority Uighurs. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Thailand has forcibly deported about 40 Uyghur asylum seekers back to China, where they face torture, prison and possibly execution, in a move that has drawn sharp backlash from the United Nations and many international rights groups.