Since Sunday, when more than 1,500 migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar poured from rickety boats onto beaches in Malaysia and Indonesia, coastguards across South-East Asia have been watching nervously for more. Panicked by a government crackdown that has lately made it impossible for people-smugglers to dock in Thailand—their usual destination—traffickers have taken to abandoning their vessels near any convenient coastline. Some have left migrants to drift with only limited supplies. As many as 6,000 people may still be at sea. But Malaysia insists it will not allow any more migrants to land; Indonesia says it has already towed at least one boat back into international waters. Mirroring the European Union’s belated efforts to deal with the misery in the Mediterranean, Thailand wants to discuss a regional approach to the crisis at an international summit scheduled for May 29th. For many of those still afloat, that will be far too late.