Compounding the problem is the already huge number of illegal migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia and Laos - already at the 2 million point - with the majority from Burma. In addition, there are several hundred thousand illegal Chinese immigrants who have settled in Thailand or used it as transit to a third country.

Since September, the arrival of Rohinya Muslim boat people along western coastal provinces has become more frequent. They come from Bangladesh's resettlement camps in Cox's Bazaar, a southern coastal city not far from Thailand, with more than 20,000 refugees. They have been there for over a decade. Thai authorities concluded recently that those who arrived in Thailand by sea did so with the help of organised human trafficking groups with widespread networks in the region and inside the country.  Thailand's inconsistent but generous treatment of the new arrivals also compounds the problem. In the case of the Rohinya Muslims, once they arrive, the Thai authorities detain them without charge for fear of further court implications and delays. It has become a vicious circle whereby they arrive, are detained by the Thai authorities temporarily and transported to the north for repatriation. Along the way, some of them disappear or are pushed back to the border areas, mostly to Burmese-controlled territory under the Democratic Buddhist Karen Army. Their fates are then unknown. Those who have been able to return to the Thai side, including those who escaped repatriation, work in sweatshops along the porous border. Granted the volatile situation in the southern provinces, it is understandable why the Thai authorities fear that any delay in repatriation would enable some to link up with ill-intentioned elements there. Unlike the Rohinya Muslims, North Korean asylum seekers are flooding into Thailand with the assistance of human traffickers. The numbers have reached 400 in the past four months and the Thai authorities are wary that these North Koreans might pose a serious political and social threat to Thailand.

In the future, the government will try to discourage the Rohinya Muslims from sailing to Thailand. Most of them prefer to go to Malaysia, where they share the same religion. As such, the Thai authorities, especially the navy, should be equipped with food, fresh water and other survival necessities for the asylum seekers to travel further to their preferred destination. Malaysia took in thousands of Rohinya in the 1990s when they were pushed out of Burma.

Thailand needs to handle the influx of new arrivals in a more systematic and comprehensive way, otherwise the country could be inundated. This is a delicate situation. Stopping these destitute people, who seek freedom and better lives, should not be government policy. However, most of them arrive as part of organised smuggling rings. To cope with this dilemma, Thailand must get help from all concerned at local, regional and international levels. Certainly, Thailand has to clean up corruption among Immigration officials who act in collusion with traffickers, but a lack of resources has made effective monitoring and guarding of border areas almost impossible.

Since most asylum seekers and migrant workers are from neighbouring countries, Thailand must have dialogue with these nations to seek cooperation and common solutions. Bilateral talks with Burma, the biggest source of refugees and illegal migrant workers, must be intensified. In the case of the Rohinya Muslims, for instance, Thailand needs to bring the matter up with both the Bangladeshi and Burmese authorities. Lessons from Malaysia's experience in handling the Rohinya refugees would also be useful. As more North Korean asylum seekers are making their way here, the Thai authorities are becoming more nervous and threatening to push them back. That would again bring international condemnation - something Thailand cannot afford to have at this juncture.

The National Security Council, which handles this issue, has been negligent. It lacks a well-thought-out plan. For instance, the council insisted on repatriating Hmong and Shan refugees, even though they would face persecution back in Burma, amid outcries from the international community. Where other nationalities are concerned, they have been allowed in and have gone through the underground illegal process.

The international community, which is currently facing humanitarian aid fatigue, must help Thailand and prevent the Thai authorities from taking an easy way out against international norms. An international conference on these new arrivals and on ways to combat human trafficking both regionally and internationally could be convened to exchange views and identify common approaches and the best solutions. Therefore, it would be wise for Thailand to accede to the 1951 Refugee Convention so that refugee problems can be handled honestly, openly and with dignity.

Given its central location in Southeast Asia, Thailand will never escape from being the main destination for refugees from neighbouring countries. So Thailand has to share these pains but at the same time avoid being held hostage by human tragedies it does not create.

One country alone cannot take responsibility for this; there has to be concerted international assistance both in the short and long term.

Kavi Chongkittavorn