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U.S. supporting migrant rescue efforts through maritime surveillance

The U.S. plan is to provide support in humanitarian efforts in conjunction with Thailand's navy.

By Elizabeth Shim

BANGKOK, May 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. military is stepping up migrant rescue efforts off the west coast of Malaysia through maritime surveillance.

U.S. maritime surveillance flights began on May 24, according to Melissa Sweeney, a U.S. embassy spokeswoman in Bangkok. Voice of America reported that Washington has consulted governments in the region before conducting the flights.

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"The flights are consistent with our offer to assist governments in the region to improve their understanding of the situation in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal," said Sweeney.

An estimated 2,000 Rohingya Muslim migrants are still stranded at sea, reported the Bangkok Post. Their whereabouts are unknown since a May 1 crackdown in Thailand led human traffickers to abandon the ships of smuggled people.

The U.S. plan is to provide support in humanitarian efforts also involving Thailand.

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Monday the country's $145.2 million ship HTMS Ang Thong is to serve as a "floating base with medics and police" on board.

The prime minister said any rescued migrants is to be sent to the navy vessel for temporary assistance, before they are handed over to Malaysia and Indonesia, where short-terms shelters are to be provided.

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Gen. Prayut said that the U.S. planes were allowed to operate on terms that they remain under Thailand's chain of command.

"The operation is in our territory and they are required to work with our task force," said the prime minister.

Thailand recently rejected a U.S. request to keep a maritime-surveillance aircraft in the coastal city of Phuket. The Bangkok Post reported the rejection was a sign Thailand is irritated over U.S. pressure to take care of human trafficking on its borders.

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