• A Malaysian navy vessel patrols waters near Langkawi island on May 16. A boat crammed with migrants was towed out to sea by the Thai navy and then held up by Malaysian vessels on May 16 – the latest round of ‘maritime ping-pong’ by Asian states determined not to let asylum seekers come ashore. Olivia Harris/Reuters
    A Malaysian navy vessel patrols waters near Langkawi island on May 16. A boat crammed with migrants was towed out to sea by the Thai navy and then held up by Malaysian vessels on May 16 – the latest round of ‘maritime ping-pong’ by Asian states determined not to let asylum seekers come ashore. Olivia Harris/Reuters
  • A Rohingya migrant woman carries a bottle of drinking water inside a temporary compound for refugees in Kuala Cangkoi village in Lhoksukon, Indonesia’s Aceh Province on May 17. Beawiharta/Reuters
    A Rohingya migrant woman carries a bottle of drinking water inside a temporary compound for refugees in Kuala Cangkoi village in Lhoksukon, Indonesia’s Aceh Province on May 17. Beawiharta/Reuters
  • Migrants on a truck as they are transferred from a temporary detention facility to a naval base on Langkawi island, Malaysia, on May 13, before being moved to a detention center on the Malaysian mainland. Vincent Thian/ AP Photo
    Migrants on a truck as they are transferred from a temporary detention facility to a naval base on Langkawi island, Malaysia, on May 13, before being moved to a detention center on the Malaysian mainland. Vincent Thian/ AP Photo
  • A rescued migrant is carried to a waiting ambulance upon his arrival at the new confinement area in the fishing town of Kuala Langsa in Aceh province on May 15, where hundreds of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh - mostly Rohingyas - are taking shelter after they were rescued. Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo
    A rescued migrant is carried to a waiting ambulance upon his arrival at the new confinement area in the fishing town of Kuala Langsa in Aceh province on May 15, where hundreds of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh - mostly Rohingyas - are taking shelter after they were rescued. Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo
  • A Rohingya woman reading the Quran at a temporary shelter in Kuala Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia on May 17. Indonesian fishing boats and marine police rescued nearly 800 migrants from a sinking vessel at sea two days earlier. Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA
    A Rohingya woman reading the Quran at a temporary shelter in Kuala Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia on May 17. Indonesian fishing boats and marine police rescued nearly 800 migrants from a sinking vessel at sea two days earlier. Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA
  • The United Nations has called on countries around the Andaman Sea not to push back the thousands of desperate Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar now stranded in rickety boats and to rescue them instead. Beawiharta/Reuters
    The United Nations has called on countries around the Andaman Sea not to push back the thousands of desperate Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar now stranded in rickety boats and to rescue them instead. Beawiharta/Reuters
  • Nearly 800 migrants were brought ashore in Indonesia on May 15, but other vessels crammed with them were sent back to sea despite a United Nations call to rescue thousands adrift in South East Asian waters with dwindling food and water. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar and Bangladesh are stranded on boats as regional governments block them from landing. Beawiharta/Reuters
    Nearly 800 migrants were brought ashore in Indonesia on May 15, but other vessels crammed with them were sent back to sea despite a United Nations call to rescue thousands adrift in South East Asian waters with dwindling food and water. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar and Bangladesh are stranded on boats as regional governments block them from landing. Beawiharta/Reuters
  • A Rohingya migrant helps volunteer cooking at a temporary shelter on May 17 in Kuala Langsa, Aceh province, Indonesia. Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
    A Rohingya migrant helps volunteer cooking at a temporary shelter on May 17 in Kuala Langsa, Aceh province, Indonesia. Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
  • Malaysian navy personnel prepare food supplies for Myanmar and Bangladesh migrants they found while patrolling Langkawi, Malaysia on May 15. Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency beefed up its patrols on its waters to prevent migrants from entering the country, after more than 1,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi boat people landed in the northern island of Langkawi earlier in the week. Fazry Ismail/EPA
    Malaysian navy personnel prepare food supplies for Myanmar and Bangladesh migrants they found while patrolling Langkawi, Malaysia on May 15. Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency beefed up its patrols on its waters to prevent migrants from entering the country, after more than 1,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi boat people landed in the northern island of Langkawi earlier in the week. Fazry Ismail/EPA
  • A Rohingya woman sleeps with her son at a temporary shelter in Kuala Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia on May 17. Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA
    A Rohingya woman sleeps with her son at a temporary shelter in Kuala Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia on May 17. Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA
  • An Indonesian medical team tending to an unconscious Bangladeshi migrant in a medical tent at a confinement area in the fishing town of Kuala Langsa in Aceh province on May 17. Romeo Gacad/AFP Photo
    An Indonesian medical team tending to an unconscious Bangladeshi migrant in a medical tent at a confinement area in the fishing town of Kuala Langsa in Aceh province on May 17. Romeo Gacad/AFP Photo
  • Many of the Rohingya men, women and children who fled persecution and poverty at home now face sickness and starvation at sea. Beawiharta/Reuters
    Many of the Rohingya men, women and children who fled persecution and poverty at home now face sickness and starvation at sea. Beawiharta/Reuters

Asia

South East Asia migrant crisis - in pictures

Rob Gurdebeke

May 18, 2015

  • English
  • Arabic

Nearly 3,000 migrants have swum to shore or been rescued off Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand over the past week. The three nations have sparked international outrage by turning away some overloaded vessels, while thousands of migrants are still believed to be stranded at sea after a Thai crackdown disrupted long-established people-smuggling and trafficking routes.

Southeast AsiaThailandIndonesiaTrafficking