Thailand's handling of Rohingya migrants endorsed by UN chief

Thailand's handling of Rohingya migrants was on Sunday given support from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, according to a Thai government official.

The U.N. chief telephoned Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to inquire the Thai authorities' reported efforts to take care of the Muslim migrants who had fled Myanmar's strife-torn Rakhine state and sailed on the Andaman Sea in search of asylum in a third country, said Veerachon Sukhontapatipark, a close aide to the premier.

Ban expressed his consent for the Thai authorities' handling of the situation in which hundreds of the seagoing Rohingyas were recently provided food and fuel for their boats, Veerachon said.

However, they were not allowed to disembark on southern Thai shores though they had come very close.

Both the U.N. chief and the Thai leader agreed that the migrants should be given help purely on humanitarian basis while it remains to be known if and when they could possibly find a third country to settle down, he said.

Hundreds of Rohingyas had reportedly sailed into Thai territorial waters in the Andaman Sea since earlier this month, besides many others who had sailed further down toward Malaysia and Indonesia.

Prayut earlier commented that Thailand is merely providing temporary shelter but no permanent refugee center for the Rohinyas or any other migrants from overseas.

Ban also endorsed Thailand's plan to host an international conference on May 29 pertaining to irregular migrations in the Indian Ocean which obviously involve the Rohingyas, he added.