Indonesia and Malaysia agree to take in 7,000 migrants, for now

Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to take in thousands of stranded migrants — (Image credit: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to provide "temporary shelter" for thousands of Muslim migrants trapped at sea, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said at a meeting with counterparts from Indonesia and Thailand, "provided that the resettlement and repatriation process will be done in one year by the international community."

The announcement could ease a humanitarian crisis that has been going on for weeks, with ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and migrants from Bangladesh stranded without food or water in broken-down ships abandoned by the captain. Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand have refused landing to many of the migrants, though some 3,000 have been allowed in in recent weeks. Aman said the three countries would "provide humanitarian assistance" to 7,000 migrants at sea, though the United Nations could only count about 4,000. Buddhist militants have been attacking the Rohingyas in Myanmar, and human traffickers have been shifting to the sea as neighboring countries crack down on land migration routes.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.