South-East Asia and Australia

Internal displacement, refugee and stateless populations and asylum and irregular labour migration flows have long posed challenges for South-East Asia as a region. Multiple drivers of irregular migration – such as conflict, interethnic and broader community violence, natural disasters, profound inequality and lack of opportunity – feature in many parts of the region. Entry and border management are particularly challenging because of archipelagic and isolated borders, and further complicated by traditions of informal (often seasonal) migration for work. Illicit migratory practices, such as the corrupt behaviour that facilitates migrant smuggling and human trafficking, are endemic and have proved difficult to manage. The political, economic and social costs of irregular migration are growing for most States of the region, and it is unsurprising that this issue is now firmly established on the political, policy and research agendas in both South-East Asia and Australia. Within this broader landscape, migrant smuggling has emerged as a persistent feature of irregular migration and a source of pressing concern to governments of the region.

Related Subject(s): Drugs Crime and Terrorism

Countries: Australia