Uighur Refugees in Southeast Asia

In the aftermath of the March 1 Kunming rail station attacks, allegedly perpetrated by ethnic Uighur militants, China is asking its Southeast Asian neighbors to round up Uighur immigrants living within their borders. Since March 13, Thailand has detained two groups of 218 and 78 Muslim refugees, with many claiming to be "Turkish" although they are thought to be ethnic Uighurs from China (Uighurs are a Turkic people). The refugees were hiding in different locations in Sadao District, Songkhla province, in the deep south bordering Malaysia. Thai authorities have linked these groups with 112 Muslim refugees discovered last year, and a group of 15 discovered earlier this week, in the southeast province of Sa Kaeo, bordering Cambodia. Thai media and Chinese diplomats in Thailand claim these are also ethnic Uighurs from Xinjiang, the Uighur homeland in northwest China.

Many details remain unclear about these detainees, though Thai authorities say they were not linked to terrorism and that they had enough money to pay $19,000 each for their illegal passage. Thai, Chinese and Turkish authorities are cooperating to locate and arrest the human trafficking network that transported the families to Thailand, according to the Bangkok Post. Thai authorities claim that Uighurs are using several routes from China through Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia to get to southern Thailand and then Malaysia. The routes run over land or over the Andaman Sea or the Gulf of Thailand and take approximately two weeks to a month. The Thais claim that the refugees can supposedly get passports in Malaysia that will allow them to fly to Turkey or other havens like Australia.

Thai authorities claim the Uighur refugees have no terrorist links, but Beijing has expressed concern and will seek to have them extradited to China. Though Chinese security forces were apparently unprepared for the Kunming attacks, they had become more attentive in recent years toward Uighurs traveling southwestern routes to trade and seek contacts with international associates. Tensions with Uighurs inside China, including the ongoing Hanification of Xinjiang, strict regulations on Uighur religious and social practices and a fear of Uighur militancy, will likely continue driving more Uighurs into exile even as the government attempts to improve the Xinjiang economy. But Beijing faces a challenge that goes well beyond its desire to regain control over a few small groups of Uighur refugees in Southeast Asia. It will need to ask for more help with information sharing, law enforcement and the delicate issue of deportation from most of its neighbors, and it will need to weigh options for discouraging or punishing uncooperative states.

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