Thailand 'needs help' to tackle Rohingya problem

Though the issue will be discussed on the sidelines, no concrete outcomes can be expected, they said.

However, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva would be given several opportunities to raise the issue with his counterparts, said Vitavas Srivihok, director of Asean Affairs Department.

"If leaders from concerned countries wish to talk about it, the issue will be brought up," Vitavsas said at a press briefing.

The plight of the stateless Rohingya ethnic minority came under the spotlight after reports said they were mistreated at the hands of the Thai military recently. The Thai Navy was accused of towing nearly 1,000 boat people and abandoning them at high seas with little food and water. The boat people were said to come from either Burma or Bangladesh.

Abhisit admitted recently that the reports were correct, but said the officials who might be responsible could not be pinned down.

Meanwhile, PM's PM's Deputy Secretary Panitan Wattanayakorn said Thailand was not the source of the problem, but merely a recipient and needs cooperation from countries to help tackle it.

"This is a sensitive issue because some countries do not recognise these people. But it is not just our problem and we need regional cooperation on this," he said.

Thailand-based human traffickers might be involved in the case, while the Department of Special Investigation has already arrested some people in a bid to destroy such syndicates, he said.

"We will do our part and ask other countries in the region to do their part," he said.

Abhisit has already discussed the issue with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a visit to Jakarta last week. Burma, which does not recognise the Rohingya as its people, is also willing to discuss the issue, Vitavas said, but declined convey what sort of outcome can be expected of the discussion.