Arakan News Agency
Asian countries have agreed to work together to try to stem the region’s migrant crisis, as Myanmar brought to shore another boat full of migrants.
Countries agreed to intensify search-and-rescue operations as well as address root causes of migration at a regional conference in Bangkok.
Myanmar rejected allegations that it is largely to blame for the crisis.
Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority refugees as well as Bangladeshi immigrants make up the bulk of those stranded at sea.
On Friday it said it had picked up a boat with 727 migrants on board – just a week after it picked up about 200 in its first such operation.
The crisis began earlier this year when Thailand cracked down on overland migrant routes, forcing people smugglers to use sea routes instead.
Thousands of refugees are thought to be stranded at sea, trying to head south to Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
At the start of the Asean regional grouping – also attended by the US, UN and International Organization for Migration (IOM) – Thai Foreign Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn said the situation had reached “an alarming level”.
‘No finger-pointing’
Myanmar – also known as Burma – published images of the latest migrant vessel it says it intercepted off its southern coast on an official Facebook page.
They show a boat crammed with men, watched by a guard with a rifle. Below deck women are pictured – Myanmar says women and children account for 119 of those on board.
Source : BBC
