Thailand's repatriation of illegal immigrants to China conforms to international practice

Thailand's repatriation of over 100 illegal immigrants to China earlier this month is in line with international practice and will help curb international terrorism, experts and scholars in Southeast Asian nations have said.

On July 9, Thailand repatriated to China a total of 109 illegal immigrants who had been on their way to Turkey, Syria or Iraq to wage holy war, according to the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

Among the returnees, 13 had fled China after being implicated in terrorist activities, the ministry said in a statement.

Li Renliang, a professor at Thailand's National Institute of Development Administration, said those immigrants crossed borders in an illegal manner, not to mention some of them are criminals or even terrorist suspects.

The Thai authorities returned them to China as required by international law, and the Thailand-China law-enforcement operation was in line with relevant international treaties and bilateral agreements and thus was justified and legal, Li added.

Some governments, he said, have groundlessly criticized the normal cooperation between China and Thailand in combating illegal immigration. They labeled the illegal immigrants, including those implicated in terrorism, as "refugees" and made every attempt to obstruct the repatriation, he said.

Their reaction, indicative of a double standard for fighting terrorism, is ridiculous and runs contrary to international anti-terrorism efforts, Li said.

Bambang Suryono, president of the Jakarta-based Nanyang ASEAN Foundation, said it is important for the international anti-terror campaign to prevent extremists from heading to the Middle East via Southeast Asia.

The cooperation between China and Thailand in repatriating illegal immigrants accords with their bilateral agreements and international practice, he said, adding that the move is in the interest of the two countries and will help the international campaign against terrorism.

He said that although Western countries always stress the crackdown on terrorism, they flaunted the banner of "humanitarianism" when it came to the fleeing of Chinese extremists to Southeast Asia.

It is ridiculous to label the illegal immigrants as "refugees" and criticize the legitimate law-enforcement cooperation between China and Thailand, Suryono said.

Oh Ei Sun, a senior research fellow with Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, said many countries including the United States, China, Thailand and Turkey are victims of terrorism.

"In the face of our common enemy, terrorism, all countries should abandon their narrow-minded notion of competition and fully cooperate with each other," said Oh, who was also a former political secretary to the Malaysian prime minister.

He said that as illegal immigration may involve terrorism, the United States and Turkey should stop pointing fingers at Thailand and China over the repatriation issue, and instead cooperate with other countries in cracking down on illegal immigration.

If the international community cannot cooperate closely in fighting illegal immigration in Southeast Asia, terrorism may wreak havoc on the region and Southeast Asians will have to suffer the consequences, he said.

Eng King Sia, a Malaysian news commentator, said the United States has spared no efforts to fight terrorism, on which, however, it applies double or multiple standards.

Although the illegal immigration between China and Thailand poses no threat to its national security, the United States takes it as an opportunity to put pressure on China in a bid to fulfil its own political purpose, he said.

Stefanie Kam, an associate research fellow with S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Singapore Nanyang Technological University, said human smuggling has become a common challenge for Southeast Asian nations.

"There is a need to enhance international security cooperation and collaboration between China and Southeast Asian states affected by the threat of terrorism and militancy especially in the area of counter-terrorism, so as to deter terrorists from building capabilities and to disrupt the flow of militants into Syria," Kam said.