The turquoise waters off the coast of Malaysia have long been a route of hope and desperation for Rohingya refugees fleeing violence and hardship in Myanmar. This month, those waters became the site of another tragedy, as a boat carrying dozens of Rohingya migrants sank near the border between Thailand and Malaysia, leading to a mounting death toll and renewed calls for regional action.
On November 10, 2025, Amnesty International released a statement in response to the sinking, urging Southeast Asian governments to end the practice of pushing back migrant boats and to ensure safe landings for refugees. The incident, which occurred just days earlier, resulted in at least 27 confirmed deaths, according to Malaysian and Thai authorities, with many more still missing at sea. The refugees were part of a larger group of around 300, mostly Rohingya, who had originally set out together before splitting onto smaller boats in hopes of reaching safety.
Survivors' accounts paint a harrowing picture. Iman Sharif, an 18-year-old Rohingya, described to Reuters how he spent eight days aboard a large boat before being transferred to a smaller vessel with about 70 others. That boat, tragically, did not survive the journey. "I saw one person die. They drowned," Sharif recalled after being rescued and brought to Langkawi, Malaysia. He clung to wreckage for days before finally washing up on a Malaysian island on November 11, 2025.
The search for survivors is ongoing. Malaysian and Thai authorities have widened their operations around the maritime border, with particular focus on the waters near Koh Tarutao, where most of the bodies have been found. As of November 12, nine bodies had been recovered in Malaysia and at least six more in Thailand, according to officials cited by Reuters. The fate of the remaining passengers—some 230 people who were on another vessel after the group split—remains uncertain.
This latest disaster is only the most recent in a grim series of tragedies at sea involving Rohingya refugees. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration, more than 5,300 Rohingya boarded boats to leave Myanmar and Bangladesh between January and early November 2025. Of these, over 600 are reported dead or missing. The exodus is driven by a worsening crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where Rohingya civilians face food shortages, forced labor, arbitrary detention, and severe restrictions on movement. Ongoing conflict between the Myanmar military junta and the Arakan Army has trapped many in the crossfire and blocked the delivery of humanitarian aid. Amnesty International has documented mounting abuses against civilians, noting that the Arakan Army now controls much of northern Rakhine.
Conditions in neighboring Bangladesh, where more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees now live in overcrowded camps, have also deteriorated. US funding cuts have led to shortages in shelter, education, and basic aid, further compounding the desperation and pushing more people to risk the perilous journey by sea. "Those who were aboard a boat that sank off the coast of Malaysia had left a rapidly worsening situation both at home in Rakhine State and in overcrowded and underfunded camps over the border in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh," said Joe Freeman, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher, in a statement published by Mizzima.
Malaysia, the intended destination for many of these refugees, has a complicated relationship with the crisis. The country does not officially recognize refugee status and has in recent years stepped up efforts to turn away boats and detain Rohingya as part of a broader crackdown on undocumented migrants. In January 2025, Malaysian authorities expelled two boats carrying about 300 undocumented migrants from Myanmar from the nation’s waters, according to Amnesty International. Langkawi, with its strategic location near Thailand and close proximity to the Malaysian mainland, is frequently used as a landing point for such journeys.
Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, speaking to reporters after a briefing on the latest rescue efforts, emphasized that the tragedy should not be viewed as an isolated event. "This is not a one-off case. It is part of an ecosystem that pushes people to move when they face insecurity or humanitarian challenges in their homeland," he said, as reported by Bernama. He confirmed that all passengers on the ill-fated boat were from Myanmar, including individuals from displaced communities and refugee camps, and that survivors had paid smugglers to make the dangerous voyage—often during the hazardous monsoon season.
Authorities are now investigating possible links to human trafficking and organized crime. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has been strengthening its capacity to curb illegal entry attempts by sea, deploying helicopters, offshore patrol vessels, drones, and radar systems. Between 2010 and 2025, nearly 2,300 individuals have been detained in Langkawi waters, according to MMEA data.
Despite these enforcement efforts, regional and international organizations argue that the underlying issues driving Rohingya to undertake such dangerous journeys must be addressed. The United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration have called for greater international cooperation and a political solution to the crisis in Myanmar, warning that until the root causes of forced displacement are resolved, refugees will continue to risk their lives at sea. "Until the drivers of onward movement and the root causes of forced displacement in Myanmar are resolved, refugees will continue to undertake dangerous journeys in search of safety," the agencies said in a joint statement.
Amnesty International’s Joe Freeman echoed these sentiments, urging governments in the region to allow Rohingya to land safely and to coordinate robust search and rescue operations. "We would hope that these governments in the region, Malaysia, Thailand, others, allow Rohingya to land, that they coordinate search-and-rescue operations if they’re in distress, and absolutely under no circumstances push them back out to sea where they would face obviously more dangers and risks," Freeman told Reuters.
For many Rohingya, the journey is a last resort—a desperate bid to escape a cycle of violence, deprivation, and statelessness that has persisted for years. As regional governments grapple with the humanitarian, legal, and security challenges posed by the crisis, the voices of survivors like Iman Sharif serve as a stark reminder of the human cost of inaction. The Andaman Sea, once again, has become a graveyard for those whose only crime was seeking a life free from fear.
As search and rescue operations continue, the international community faces renewed pressure to move beyond rhetoric and address the root causes of the Rohingya crisis—before more lives are lost to the unforgiving sea.
