Migration in Southeast Asia

Front matter

IMISCOE Research Series

Sriprapha Petcharamesree Mark P. Capaldi Editors

Migration in Southeast Asia

Foreword

“Migration should be a choice and not a necessity.”

Those seminal words inspire—from the international Declaration which had preceded the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees adopted not-so-long-ago.

That premise permeates this book which acts as an optical lens for various and varied academic discourses, testing and contesting the variegated experiences of people’s movements in the Southeast Asian region. It projects progression—at times progressive, at times regressive—through the prism of boundaries, status validation, and documentation. It is imbued with a sense of the past and is replete with the immediacy of the present. There is a key awakening through the advent of COVID-19 which is concurrently invasive and pervasive. Interfacing with the fate of individuals and groups in the region, the pandemic proffers also a gargantuan challenge: is it to be a calamity or an opportunity, at least through lessons learned of what to do and what not to do?

Rightly, the discourses in this book have multi-dimensional implications traversing history, political-economy, sociology, and normativity. How to expose and address the etiology of movements, especially if they are coerced or forced through push-pull factors? What are the ontology of choices and the deontology of rights and duties which could be invoked in this region not only as imagined aspirations but also as political expectations? How to do so when confronted with the vagaries of the Nation-State and the variability of the State-of-the Nation?

One thing is for sure. Whether the outlook is steeped in historicism, actualism, modernism, and or futurism, this region will not be sedentary but ambulatory—both intra-regional and inter-regional. As one of the chapters of this book poses, as a bridge between paradigms and paradoxes—are we to opt for “universalism” which tries to care for “all” OR “selectivism” which cares for the “deserving”? Or is there a hybridised version of what Southeast Asia should seek to be, especially if it is not too State-centric?

There is then the preferred path of migration, with the testament of “the good, the bad and the wobbly,” perhaps even “criminality” such as violence and violations vi Foreword along the way which should be shunned and never be repeated. Ultimately, what has to be remembered and to resonate is the call for humanism which tests the geosocio-politico credibility of this region to its seams, the better part of which embodies a tapestry of hospitality in great lands of diversity.

In sum, perhaps the region should be very humble, deservingly offering to the world a simple but not simplistic “caveat,” infusing the contention and tension of regional fluidity with a sense of humanity.

“To move in safety and with dignity.” Please.

Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law Vitit Muntarbhorn Chulalongkorn University Bangkok, Thailand

KBE; formerly UN Independent Expert and member of UN Commissions of Inquiry on human rights; UN Special Rapporteur

UN Human Rights Council

Geneva, Switzerland

December 2021

Preface

Southeast Asia has seen major socio-economic and political transition in recent decades and is historically known for its trade routes which come with people movements. Whilst the majority of descendants of indentured labourers from India and China (brought during the colonial times) have integrated within the local societies and became part of the demographic landscape in Southeast Asia, recent population movements have been seen as a ‘threat’ by States in the region. One result is that States have become more rigid in controlling borders based on the concept of ‘migration and border management’.

Economic development successes enjoyed by a number of countries in the region, as well as opportunities for employment, relative security and safety, attracts migrants both intra-and cross regional. The last 20 years have seen unprecedent movements of people through Southeast Asia as millions have migrated for better livelihoods and a growing number have been fleeing persecution. Whilst such patterns of migration are nothing new to the region, what does seem to be changing— apart from the increasing scale of the phenomenon—is that States are increasing their efforts to block or criminalise undocumented or irregular migration, reducing the opportunities for people to legally move around. However, more restrictive migration policies in the region are not stemming the flow of migrants but instead are forcing individuals to cross borders illegally, increasing their vulnerability to a whole range of human rights abuses. Restrictive migration policies applied by some States in the region not only affects those crossing the borders but is also impacting the inclusion of those living and moving within national borders.

Traditionally, research on migration in the region has tended to focus on the contexts of migration that are dangerous, abusive and exploitative. Irregular migrants and trafficked victims have been well documented, as is how they are vulnerable to mistreatment and discrimination (as they are rarely protected by national laws). However, studies pertaining stateless individuals living in States that do not recognise them as citizens as well as refugees and asylum seekers seem to be lacking. Whilst their individual situations may be different, they are often interlinked and, in some cases, indistinguishable, as in Southeast Asia, when individuals cannot move

Vii

Vili Preface and live freely, they can move between categories of vulnerability and victimhood. The current situation of migrant workers facing a high risk from the COVID 19 pandemic is evidence of their vulnerabilities.

The academic literature on these migrant groups in Southeast Asia has rightly focused on the challenges of getting States to recognise the human rights of these non-citizens. As governments in the region increasingly take a more conservative and hard-line approach, the relevant regional mechanisms under ASEAN favour the ‘ASEAN Way’ of non-interference and State sovereignty, leaving irregular foreign migrants labelled as either ‘illegals’ or victims of exploitation or conflict. In addition, what seems to be lacking from migration study in the region is how to explain not only agency and resilience but also how political concepts such as borders, nation-state, citizenship and political community are intertwined with migration not only from regional perspective but also nationally. Concepts of borders, visible or invisible, perpetuate protection, provision and participation of migrants in the region. This book is an attempt to fill such gaps.

Conceptual Framework and New Paradigm

Through three main sections, this book attempts to apply a few distinctive concepts and paradigms: (i) Citizenship and the Exclusive State; (ii) Borders, Migration and Access to Membership Goods; and (iii) Forced Migration in Southeast Asia. “Borders define geographical boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or sub-national administrative divisions.” A nation-state, therefore, “defines its geographical limits by territory and its demographic limits by nationality” (Wetherall, 2006, p. 11). A national of a given state is considered as member of that particular political community. Those who are not nationals are “aliens” or “foreigners” who are not usually entitled to the same membership goods or the same treatment. Division between nationals and non-nationals is, often times, so clear that it creates the sense of “us” and “them” and it perpetuates the sense of an “exclusive state” through which there are borders that no one can pass without control and restrictions.

Yet borders are important as Coleman and Harding (1995, p. 35) state that “political borders, even if arbitrarily or conventionally set, have moral significance because they define the boundaries within which principles of distributive justice are to apply.” However, political (and economic) borders are arbitrary and imperfect and in terms of national citizenship are no longer feasible to regulate membership in light of today’s global economy, communication technology, internationalisation and trans-nationalisation of networks and cultures, etc. (Benhabib, 2004). Borders also have been created within cultural and social spheres and within our own communities that sees individuals (such as the Rohingyas in Myanmar or the hill-tribes and ethnic minorities in Thailand) similarly being perceived as “not part of us” and therefore also “foreign” suggesting more a “self-constructed psychological border” that we generate within ourselves.

Preface ix

Whilst migrants face challenges due to borders and the sense of “exclusive citizenship’, some are able to navigate and negotiate their agency, therefore building their resiliency. The different categories of migrants need to get on with their lives, eking out livelihoods, navigating (or avoiding) authorities for fear of deportation or discrimination whilst providing basic needs and protection for themselves and their families. As such, contemporary scholarly critiques of migrants’ experiences are turning their attention to the recognition of migrants’ agency and their active participation in the construction and construal of their own lives and the communities within which they live.

This book therefore aims to examine the topic of migration from a range of concepts and new perspectives including borders (visible or invisible), protection, provision, participation and resilience of migrants, in the region. The different chapters critically analyse how political concepts such as borders, nation-state, citizenship and political community are intertwined with migration in modern day Southeast Asia.

Overview of the Book

The book starts by reviewing the updated literature available on different types of migration in Southeast Asia, by providing an academic critique of the complex and creative negotiations that migrants face in their daily lives. In the introductory Chap. 1, Mark P. Capaldi documents how the proportion of people’s movement within Southeast Asia continues with the causes of migration being varied due to economic inequalities, environmental degradation, violent conflicts and other forms of human rights violations. Forced, irregular and mixed migratory flows are all key trends in Southeast Asia. Many of the richer countries in the region (where 96% of the region’s migrants are found) depend on human mobility to fill low-wage jobs in agriculture, tourism, construction, and domestic help, and their plight has been thrust into the spotlight by the COVID-19 pandemic. The author explores the dynamics of these mixed migration flows by taking a theoretical approach to analysing migration in the region.

The remaining chapters are all grouped under three main sections. The first section has a number of chapters related to ‘Citizenship and the Exclusive State’. Building on the work of what the late political scientist and historian Benedict Anderson called the ‘imagined community’: “A Nation-state is an imagined political community. It is imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign. Because of this imagination that a nation(-state) is inherently exclusive” (Anderson, 2000, p. 6). This implies that certain categories of people are included within its self-construction based on particular and narrowly defined criteria, and many other are excluded as explored in the chapters in this section. Chapter 2 by Sriprapha Petcharamesree illustrates how this imagination of a nation(—state) is ‘inherently exclusive’ manifests in Southeast Asian States who imagine their communities as exclusive, with certain categories of people being excluded, especially those who are considered x Preface different and those who cross (inter)national borders. This chapter unpacks the notion of borders, not only from territorial and geographical perspectives, but also the borders created within cultural, social and economic spheres. Through the concept of citizenship, the paper argues conceptually and empirically that borders created through ‘imagined community’ can easily discriminate against populations who are not considered as members of a political community or not ‘one of us’.

The issue of citizenship and how it can prevent social and political integration of so many people is explored in further chapters. Starting with the consequences of the high rates of low birth registration found in the region. Sriprapha Petcharamesree demonstrates in Chap. 3 that although all member states of ASEAN recognise the right to legal identity and birth registration, millions of people remain unregistered and are thus not able access their fundamental rights, including nationality. She assesses why States in the region, which are supposed to be inclusive, still exclude certain groups from obtaining legal identity, and therefore sentencing them to ‘civil death’. This legal invisibility exacerbates ‘irregular migration’ in that it deprives people without legal status and legal identity from access to other rights essential for a decent standard of living. Due to the denial of basic human rights, many decide to take the uncertain journey of migration.

In Chap. 4 written by Bongkot Napaumporn, she describes the difficulties faced by Vietnamese refugees who came to Thailand decades ago and are fully integrated into the Thai society, yet are still excluded from the nationality system. Their existence and issues surrounding them, including their belonging, have always been politicised. National security was used as an excuse to legitimise restrictions on the group. Their children, although born and brought up in Thailand, were unable to acquire Thai nationality. Although policies regarding this population have significantly improved since 1992, it took years to resolve the problems which they faced. While many remain in Thailand, some tried to migrate irregularly to seek a better life in other countries such as Japan, where they would end up living in limbo because of their illegal entry and unresolved statelessness status.

Susan Kneebone examines in Chap. 5 a transnational case of female marriage migration to South Korea from Vietnam. She explains the discriminatory consequences of South Korea’s laws and policies on nationality which frame such migration as ‘a critical project for the nation-state’. Through a socio-legal study, she demonstrates how notions of gender, race, culture and identity shape the internal border for marriage migrants from Vietnam, through laws and policies in South Korea. She argues that responses to female marriage migration from Vietnam have created vulnerabilities, through nationality laws, which are reinforced through instrumental policies on labour migration and commercial regulation of marriage. These laws and policies entrench the unequal position of Vietnamese marriage migrants in the transnational marriage migration ‘market’ to create ‘structural vulnerability’ through the power and structures of the State.

As this section is highlighting the need for more ‘integrative citizenship’, it advocates for a more inclusive approach to citizenship. This is reflected in Chap. 6 prepared by Anderson Villa and Amorisa Wiratri, entitled “Rethinking Local

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Citizenship and Integration of Persons of Indonesian Descent in the Southern Philippines”. The chapter interrogates the prevalent misconception of host governments that migration disrupts, rather than transforms, their communities. Reflecting upon the works of Takeyuki Tsuda (2006, 2008) in the context of East Asian countries, the chapter attempts to unpack the concept of local citizenship, when local governments in the southern Philippines subtly grant some fundamental socio-political rights and services to Persons of Indonesian Descent (PID) as legitimate members of their local communities. This study argues that the local governments in the southern Philippines have a significant role in performing acts of local citizenship for PID. The study attempts to generate discussions of and alternatives to ‘citizenship from below’ for migrants and host countries in the region.

The second main section examines ‘Borders, Migration and Access to Membership Goods’. Access to health care as a national membership good is discussed in the next two chapters. Chapter 7 prepared by Sharuna Vergis is entitled “Citizenship and Legal Status in Healthcare: Access of Non-citizens in the ASEAN: A Comparative Case Study of Thailand and Malaysia” which appraises the countries’ contrasting models of health systems in the way healthcare access of migrant populations is conceptualised. Examining this issue from a comparative foundation and exploring the entitlement of a range of non-citizens to healthcare through the lens of documentation status, citizenship, and moral deservingness, the chapter demonstrates how borders move within national boundaries as neoliberal policies influence the normative frameworks underpinning health systems and the access of non-citizens to healthcare.

Indeed, these groups of migrants have been made even more vulnerable by the global pandemic of Covid-19. Amparita S. Sta. Maria therefore examines, in Chap. 8 (“Labour Migration and Exclusive State amidst the Global Pandemic of COVID-19”) the lives and rights of semi-low skilled labour, the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand as far as the treatment and protection of migrant workers are concerned. It analyses how their policies have been effectively reshaped by the spread of the deadly virus, the underlying and facilitating factors which resulted in recalibrated measures and policy shifts with migrant workers, and how the pandemic has challenged traditional health responses and strategies, which have generally been framed around the protection primarily, if not exclusively, of a State’s own citizens.

As migration provides immense opportunity and benefits for host nations, regular migrants should clearly be entitled to a range of membership goods. Proper management of migration requires fair treatment of third-country nationals residing legally in ASEAN Member States. Yet in ASEAN, the majority of migrants are irregular or undocumented, further restricting their ability to access membership goods and putting them in greater danger of risks and harm. These uncertain journeys are also taken voluntarily by children who are searching for a better life. Mark P. Capaldi and Alessia Altamura, in their Chap. 9 on “Accounting for Children’s Agency and Resilience in Independent Child Migration in Southeast Asia” looks at independent child migration in the region. Refusing unidimensional xii Preface interpretations of what is in fact a complex issue regarding independent child migrants, the authors unveil several conceptual shortcomings in the conflation of child trafficking and independent child migration. In so doing, increasing emphasis has been placed on the notions of children’s agency, capacities and “childhood as a social construction”. Though only at a nascent state, research has also focused on the often neglected perspective of children’s resilience. Through these lenses, adolescent migration for work can often be a constructive aspiration of young people’s search for the full realization of their rights.

Not that Chap. 9 is trying to downplay the very real risks of exploitation, abuse and persecution that many migrants in the region face. The third and final section on ‘Forced Migration in Southeast Asia’ is testament to the millions of forcibly displaced persons in the region. The Rohingya have had a desperate past of persecution and movement spanning two hundred years which whilst illustrating the incredibly long history of refugee flows in the region, also traces their link to what is now modern-day Myanmar. In recent decades, most of the movement of around one million Rohingya from Myanmar has been to Bangladesh although there has been significant movement to other countries in the region, in particular Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. As both stateless and as refugees, the Rohingya are among the most marginalised migrant groups in the region. Avyanthi Azis draws attention to this group of stateless persons in Southeast Asia in Chap. 10 “The Refugees Vanish: Rohingya Movement, Emergency’s Temporality and Violence of the Indonesian Humanitarian Border”. The chapter calls for more sustained attention to Rohingya movement as an ontological activity that has largely been observed in an episodic manner. It focuses on Indonesia’s response to Rohingya boat people. It argues that subsumed into the limited temporality of emergency, such a response has led to an emergent humanitarian border, through which refugees are escaping. Drawing on local media reports, the analysis problematises the recurring arrivals/subsequent disappearances of Rohingya refugees from Aceh (2015-2021), and examines the material and ideational configurations of the violent border assemblage as it becomes entrenched in current regulation.

Much of the movement of the Rohingya through the region has been by smuggling and trafficking—often with dire consequences as illustrated by the shocking Andaman Sea Crisis when at the start of May 2015, around 32 shallow graves were found on a remote mountain in Thailand at a camp which was used as a ‘holding area’ for Rohingya and Bangladeshi who were waiting to be smuggled into Malaysia. It was believed that traffickers had been holding boat people for ransom, often starving or torturing them until their relatives paid up. Those whose families were unable to pay were reportedly left to die or sold into forced labour. In Joseph Lelliott and Rebecca Miller’s Chap. 11 entitled “The Nexus Between Corruption, Migrant Smuggling, and Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia” explain that the dynamics of strong drivers and demand for migrants in Southeast Asia, combined with often costly and complex channels for regular migration, have led to high levels of irregular migration throughout the region. These dynamics have, in turn, created a substantial market for the services of migrant smugglers, and place many migrants at

Preface xiii risk of human trafficking and other violations of their rights. The chapter sheds light on the ways in which corrupt practices and relationships help smugglers and traffickers subvert immigration controls and prevent investigation and punishment of their illicit activities. It further explores the potential negative impacts of corruption on the protection of smuggled migrants and victims of trafficking. The chapter asserts that stricter migration controls are only likely to increase the markets for smuggling and trafficking and, in turn, amplify corruption risks. Among the three recommendations made, the authors suggest making efforts to increase the scope and accessibility of regular avenues for migration. The regular avenues of migration are only available to those with access to proper documentation.

The way Indonesia deals with the Rohingya is examined by Tri Nuke Pudjiastuti and Steven C.M. Wong Chap. 12 in “The Politics of Forced Migration in Southeast Asia”. The chapter analyses forced migration in the region arguing that it has been deeply rooted in the local, national, regional, and global politics of nation states. In Southeast Asia, this remains intensely experiential, and policy actions cannot be understood in abstract or normative terms. Member states differ greatly in economic, social, and political terms, and thus how they perceive their interests. Individually and collectively through ASEAN, they have tended to act defensively with respect to forced migration, but with accommodations and regional responses when called for, as episodes from mainland Southeast Asia and Myanmar, show. The paper argues that for States to be incentivised to raise their levels of protection and welfare, forced migration needs to be framed as a global collective endeavour. It is through the setting of new norms through the international framework and compacts agreed that higher minimum standards will evolve.

Not only does this publication provide an updated overview of migration within Southeast Asia, the innovation of this book is from looking at not only how such concepts as borders, citizenship and exclusion create vulnerabilities, but also examining the interlocking of vulnerabilities, agency and resilience. All chapters are grounded offering empirical perspectives of each issue under study. As editors, we are grateful to all the authors of this book for contributing conceptually, theoretically and programmatically to a deeper understanding of the interlocking principles of protection, provision and participation within the region’s migration.

Anderson, B. (2000). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of

nationalism. Verso.

Benhabib, S. (2004). The rights of others: Aliens, residents and citizens. Cambridge University Press.

Coleman, J. L., & Harding, S. K. (1995). Citizenship, the demands of justice, and the moral relevance of political borders. In W. F. Schwartz (Ed.), Justice in immigration (pp. 18—62). Cambridge University Press.

Tsuda, T. (Ed.). (2006). Local citizenship in recent countries of immigration: Japan in comparative perspective. Lexington Book Press.

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Tsuda, T. (2008). Local citizenship and foreign workers in Japan. The Asia-Pacific Journal, 6(5), 1-22.

Wetherall, W. (2006). Nationality in Japan. In S. Lee, S. Murphy-Shigematsu, & H. Befu (Eds.), Japan’s diversity dilemmas: Ethnicity, citizenship, and education (pp. 11—46). iUniverse, Inc.

Pathumwan, Thailand Sriprapha Petcharamesree

Salaya, Thailand Mark P. Capaldi

Contents

1 Present-Day Migration in Southeast Asia: Mark P. Capaldi

Part I Citizenship and the Exclusive State 2 Borders, Citizenship, ‘Imagined Community’

Sriprapha Petcharamesree

3 Birth Registration, Legal Identity and Impacts Sriprapha Petcharamesree

Bongkot Napaumporn

5 Gender, Race, Culture and Identity at the Internal Border Susan Kneebone

6 Rethinking Local Citizenship and Integration of Persons Anderson V. Villa and Amorisa Wiratri

Part II Borders, Migration and Access to Membership Goods

7 Citizenship and Legal Status in Healthcare: Access of Non-citizens in the ASEAN: A Comparative Sharuna Verghis

XV

Labour Migration and Exclusive State Amidst

Amparita D. Sta. Maria

Accounting for Children’s Agency and Resilience

Mark P. Capaldi and Alessia Altamura

Part III Forced Migration in Southeast Asia

The Refugees Vanish: Rohingya Movement, Emergency’s Temporality and Violence

Avyanthi Azis

The Nexus Between Corruption, Migrant Smuggling,

Joseph Lelliott and Rebecca Miller

Tri Nuke Pudjiastuti and Steven C. M. Wong

Contents

Chapter 1 A) Present-Day Migration in Southeast Asia: gss Evolution, Flows and Migration Dynamics

Mark P. Capaldi

Although Southeast Asia has a long history of migration—which has been researched and written about extensively—the complex nature of people movement within and from the region has grown significantly in recent years. In 2019 there were an estimated 10.1 million international migrants in the region (UN DESA, 2019), a fivefold rise since the 1990s (ILO, 2020a). Increasingly, Southeast Asian countries are having to deal with compound mixed migration flows of labour migrants crossing national borders (primarily irregular) and forced migration including environmental displacement and asylum and refugee flows. Driven by poverty, economic disparities, persecution and exclusion, the region stands out globally at a time when intraregional movements in other parts of the world are declining.

Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore remain major destinations with migrants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR and Myanmar. The Philippines continues to be one of the world’s largest origin countries sending migrants globally and having an economy reliant on remittances. Whilst such movements of people are a symptom of the region’s rapid economic growth raising challenging policy dilemmas, the absence of protection mechanisms has never been starker, particularly with the ongoing humanitarian crisis posed by the irregular maritime flows of Rohingya fleeing Myanmar and Bengalis from the Bay of Bengal and the evolving violence in Myanmar following the February 2021 military coup.

However, too simplistic a picture of migration in Southeast Asia perilously masks the complexities and diversity of mobility within the region. Urbanisation, wealth disparities and aging populations could soon create an imbalance between the supply and demand of labour. Continuing humanitarian or environmental crises

M. P. Capaldi (œ<) Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand

© The Author(s) 2023 1 S. Petcharamesree, M. P. Capaldi (eds.), Migration in Southeast Asia, IMISCOE Research Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25748-3_1 illustrate the urgency for governance, policies and intergovernmental cooperation to address protection, migrant rights and border management. Challenges in managing these disparate migration flows are compounded by escalating vulnerabilities faced by irregular workers, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and stateless populations. For example, in 2017, Southeast Asia reportedly hosted 3.37 million ‘persons of concern’ (defined by the UNHCR as including asylum seekers, IDPs, refugees and stateless persons). Inexorably linked to this mixed migration is the variation in political and democratic systems found in countries in the region which creates tests bilateral relationships in a region that prides itself in ‘non-interference’ and the respect of each other’s sovereignty.

This chapter is also being written during the COVID-19 pandemic which has closed borders and stopped people movement in all parts of the world. The sudden loss of work is creating serious strains on the livelihoods, health and rights of migrants in the region, many of whom were already vulnerable due to their undocumented legal status. Public attitudes towards migrant workers in several destination countries in Southeast Asia has never been particularly good, but they are now being blamed for bringing in the virus which is exacerbating discrimination and resulting in draconian government responses.

Yet there are also opportunities for policy solutions to better match the region’s evolving context. For many of the Southeast Asian countries, migration entails both emigration, immigration and transit migration presenting a significant and integral factor to development in the region. Currently, most agreements and policies within ASEAN deal primarily with movements of skilled labour or in the case of the ASEAN Declaration on Migrant Workers, have limited focus on the rights of migrant workers.

This chapter aims to explore these mixed migration flows within Southeast Asia by reviewing key literature on migration within the region and providing critical insights into the analysis of the available information. As most of the secondary data on migration in Southeast Asia is primarily descriptive in nature, this chapter aims to make a more theoretical contribution to analysing migration in the region. The first section explains how migration has evolved in the region over recent decades by examining the different depictions and mixed migratory flows. Recognising that there are underlying drivers and evolving determinants, the chapter then attempts to theorise what is currently fueling migration and how it significantly contributes to social and economic changes in the region. The section on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia illustrates the health and safety concerns that migrants can face and therefore the importance of effective migration governance. The chapter then analyses the different responses, or lack thereof, of ASEAN to such highly complex situations. It concludes by assessing the usefulness of the current policies and mechanisms as well as the need for a more regional and rights-based approach to migration.

1 Present-Day Migration in Southeast Asia: Evolution, Flows and Migration Dynamics 3

1.2 The Last Two Decades and the Evolution of Migration in the Region

In recent history, migration has played a crucial role in shaping and reacting to the socio-economic context of Southeast Asia. Higher performing economies within the region have long attracted migrants from much poorer countries or those at different stages of their economic development and over the last two decades the number of intraregional migrants has increased by approximately seven million with three million of these going to Thailand (Testaverde et al., 2017). Since 1995, the number of the world’s migrants from Southeast Asian countries has increased from 6 to 8% (UN DESA, 2019). The region has also experienced the feminisation of migration. UN DESA (2019) shows that whilst women now account for 46.8% of all intra- ASEAN migrants in 2018, the number of women migrating across borders has significantly grown since 1990 (there were 1,365,512 in 1990 while in 2019 this number rose to 4,772,358). Interestingly, since the 1990s, the number of migrant women registered in Singapore and Thailand has increased whilst for Malaysia and Indonesia it has been decreasing (The ASEAN Secretariat Jakarta, 2017).

In 2019, according to UNESCAP (2020), intraregional migrants made up over 92 per cent of the migrant population of Southeast Asia. Most of the migrants come from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar and migrate mainly to Thailand. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam (the region’s other lower-middle-income economies) tend to send migrants outside of the region. The majority of the Filipino migrants go to North America or the Middle East whilst for the Vietnamese, North America is the main destination. Malaysia sends migrants both within and outside the region whilst Singapore and Thailand, receiving countries for migrants, send nearly all their migrants outside of the region. Unchanged in the last two decades are the four main migration corridors that exist in the region: the Thailand corridor attracting migrants from the sub-Mekong region countries of Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar; the Singapore corridor leading from Indonesia and Malaysia; a more diverse Malaysian corridor for migration from Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam; and the facilitation of Filipino migrants by their government to fill service sector labour gaps within the region, East Asia destinations such as Taiwan and Hong Kong and further afield to North America, Europe and the oil rich countries of the Gulf. Paul (2011) uses the term “stepwise migration,” to explain migrant movement on a hierarchical progression across countries as they make their way toward their preferred destination.