As Europe debates migrant crisis, a surge of boatpeople in Southeast Asia

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Monday appealed for UN backing for Europe’s plan to confront the Mediterranean migrant crisis by using military force against smugglers. Already 2015 is shaping up as the deadliest ever for refugees seeking to reach Europe through the Mediterranean. The EU plan due to be finalized at a Brussels meeting on May 18 has run into resistance from Russia and African countries that see it as too heavily focused on military action.

We know we have to tackle all aspects of this tragedy. And dismantling traffickers … is a way of saving lives.

Federica Mogherini, EU’s top diplomat

The arrival of 1,600 boatpeople on the coasts of Malaysia and Indonesia in recent days serve as grim reminders that Europe isn’t the only place facing a migration crisis. Officials said that human traffickers had apparently abandoned the refugees’ boat and left the passengers to fend for themselves. On Sunday, three boats carrying 1,108 people arrived on the Malaysian island of Langkawi while four boats carrying another 600 people landed today in the Indonesian province of Aceh. Most of those seeking asylum are Rohingya Muslims who face systemic persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

World Migrant crisis