KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 22 (UPI) -- Malaysia began searching for Rohingya immigrants fleeing Myanmar by sea Friday, and the United States has begun preparations for airborne patrols. It is the first indication Malaysia is involving itself in the humanitarian operation to save members of the Muslim minority group escaping sectarian violence in Myanmar and poverty in Bangladesh by boat, and the first time the United States military has announced its interest in taking a role in rescuing vessels of escaping migrants. A bipartisan group of 23 members of the U.S. Congress urged President Barack Obama Wednesday to keep Southeast Asia from becoming a "graveyard" for the Rohingya, an oppressed ethnic group which lacks citizenship and rights in their home country of Myanmar.
Thousands of Rohingya have spent months at sea as they attempted an eastward journey on the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea to arrive in Indonesia, Malaysia or Australia. Over 400 were brought ashore at Aceh province, Indonesia, Wednesday in "very, very bad shape," said Joe Lowry of the International Organization for Migration, with dehydration and malnourishment.