ASEAN at sea

The migrant crisis in the Andaman Sea saw some 8000 people some Rohingya refugees and others Bangladeshi economic migrants trapped at sea. The immediate cause of the crisis was Thailands crackdown on the smugglers, who had until recently facilitated the movement of people across borders. With the Thai border closed, the boats, crammed with their cargo of human misery, were pushed southwards, where they were no more welcome. Indonesia and Malaysia also ordered naval forces to stop the boats from reaching land. Following an international outcry both countries relented, allowing the boats to land. But they immediately repatriated all citizens of Bangladesh and insisted that the Rohingya only have temporary asylum, pending their removal to a final, as yet unspecified, location within a year.