Talks on South East Asia migrant crisis underway in Bangkok

(Vatican Radio) Talks are underway in Bangkok, Thailand to determine what to do about the migrant crisis that is sweeping across South East Asia.

Thousands of people fleeing economic hardship in Bangladesh and Myanmar are believed to be stranded at sea.  Many are  Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar.  Most are trying to make their way to Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Representatives from 17 countries in the region affected by immigration in the Indian Ocean are attending the talks including  Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. The US and the UN are also participating.

Listen to Tracey McClure's report

Opening Friday’s talks, Thailand's Foreign Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn expressed alarm over the influx of irregular migrants and said an urgent and united response is needed. Apparently alluding to Mysanmar and Bangladesh, he also said the root causes that motivated the migrants to leave must also be addressed.  But the first priority is locating the migrants and bringing them to safety.

Thailand is allowing US surveillance planes to take off from its territory to search for migrants adrift at sea.  The discovery of mass graves in Thailand and Malaysia also brings to the fore the need to do more to stop trafficking.