Talks on the migrant crisis in Southeast Asia start in Thailand

Migrants at sea. — (Image credit: Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)

In Thailand on Friday, representatives from more than 20 countries gathered at the Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean to discuss the migrant crisis taking place in the region.

Thousands of migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar are adrift at sea in southeast Asia, Reuters reports, unable to land in Thailand now that the country has made it too risky for traffickers to drop them off. Many of the migrants are Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, a minority group that the country considers stateless. Htein Lin, director general at Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Myanmar is not to blame for the crisis, adding, "You cannot single out my country. In the influx of migration, Myanmar is not the only country."

Malaysia says it has taken in 120,000 migrants from Myanmar, and Indonesia promised to give temporary shelter to migrants at sea, but said it needs other countries to help resettle them. Thailand will not allow the boats to dock because it is already hosting 100,000 migrants from Myanmar, but is offering medical aid to migrants at sea. The country also gave the U.S. permission to fly surveillance flights over its airspace in an attempt to track down boats carrying migrants. "We have to save lives urgently," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard said.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.