'Migrate to the sea to bring migrants here'

Thailand's junta chief yesterday said those who felt his government should do more to help stranded boatpeople should "migrate" to sea themselves and swap places with them.

The comments from Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha came as Bangkok was criticised for not following Indonesia and Malaysia in agreeing on Wednesday to accept stranded migrants.

"Anyone who supports this idea (of accepting boatpeople), please contribute one baht a day or take them to your home when their case has been processed," the former army chief, who took over in a coup a year ago, told lawmakers during a speech on the budget.

"Or you migrate out to the sea and bring them to live here instead," he added.

In the past 10 days, nearly 3,000 Myanmar Rohingyas and Bangladeshis have been rescued or swum to shore in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Several thousand more are believed to be trapped on boats at sea with little food or water in a crisis sparked by smugglers abandoning their human cargo after a Thai crackdown on human-trafficking routes.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand had sparked growing international outrage by driving off boats overloaded with exhausted migrants.

But after a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, Malaysia and Indonesia softened their stance, saying they would take in migrants for a year, or until they can be resettled or repatriated with the help of international agencies.

In a further step Malaysia Thursday ordered a search and rescue mission to look for stranded migrants.

Thailand, which was at the meeting, did not sign up to the initiative, a decision ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights described Thursday as a "colossal failure of regional leadership".

But Prayut defended Thailand's policy towards migrants, saying the country was already home to more than 900,000 refugees from decades of regional turmoil.