The Foreign Minister of Bangladesh is pressing Australia to take more Rohingyas languishing in camps as officials from across the region gather in Adelaide to discuss people smuggling and the growing number of refugees dying at sea.
Representatives from dozens of Asia-Pacific countries are holding the talks under the Bali Process — a forum established by Australia and Indonesia in 2002 to deal with human trafficking.
Human rights groups are demanding that officials and politicians kickstart a new regional response to the latest wave of Rohingya refugees.
Almost 350 people died or went missing at sea in 2022 while fleeing civil conflict in Myanmar or refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh.
The United Nations believes more than 1 million members of the ethnic minority have fled to the camps after being driven out by a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar over the last six years.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told the ABC that many countries had substantially increased the number of Rohingya refugees they had taken, and he would like to see Australia take more people in.
"If they can do it, why not Australia? Australia is relatively more resourceful, so I think it's high time Australia come forward and resettle some more of those distressed people," he said.
"They can start a larger program of resettling and reallocating some of these people from Myanmar.
"Australia has the capacity, it has the resources — there's only a need for a political mindset. And if they have that mindset they can help us."
Dr Momen also said he wanted Australia to plough more energy into regional diplomatic efforts to press the military junta in Myanmar to allow Rohingyas to return home.
Australia provided 'substantial' assistance, Wong says
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia acknowledged that Bangladesh had carried a "heavy burden" with the Rohingya refugee crisis, but the government had already made substantial contributions to help.
"We have provided substantial additional humanitarian assistance to Myanmar and Bangladesh since 2017 — I think it is over $350 million since that time," she said.
"And after we came to government in our first budget I announced $135 million as a contribution to both Myanmar and Bangladesh for the current financial year in recognition of what is occurring."
Senator Wong did not make any fresh commitments on refugee resettlement but said Australia's program was "generous" by global standards.
"There are many more people who want to come to Australia than we have places for, and that is a reality of the world in which we live."
CEO of the Centre for Policy Development Andrew Hudson, who heads an advisory panel to the Bali Process, told the ABC that Bali Process nations had to take rapid action to tackle the crisis.
"Previous Bali ministerial meetings have committed to a timely response to emergency situations," he said.
"Today, ministers must live up to this commitment and immediately coordinate a regional response to the tragic loss of life at sea."
Mr Hudson said officials should activate the Bali Process consultation mechanism and ramp up efforts to tackle the refugee crisis.
"The action required to respond to the crisis is clear. Bali Process ministers must step up and provide the political will," he said.
"This must be activated today to save lives and show Australian and Indonesian leadership on this vital issue."
Human Rights Watch Asia director Elaine Pearson told the ABC that foreign ministers needed to commit to "concrete measures" to help Rohingya and share the burden among Bali Process members.
She said that included responding to boats in distress, coordinated search and rescues and residency and work permits for recognised refugees.
"For governments like Australia that are further away, it means a commitment to humanitarian aid and to safe legal pathways for migration – such as allocating more visas to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as well as more pressure on Myanmar," Ms Pearson said.
