Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. says it expects to begin surveillance flights in Thai airspace in the next few days to help search for boat people stranded in Southeast Asian seas.
The U.S. Navy has been conducting flights out of Malaysia for nearly a week, identifying one possible refugee vessel so far. Although Thailand is a U.S. treaty ally, it has been more reticent, citing national security concerns.
Thousands of Rohingya Muslims and impoverished Bangladeshis are feared adrift at sea after human smugglers abandoned their boats.
State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke welcomed Thailand's announcement that it was now approving maritime flights. He said the U.S. is working with the Thai authorities to finalize the operational details.
U.S. representatives attended a regional conference hosted Friday by Thailand on addressing the humanitarian crisis.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
