UNREGULATED MIGRATION AS A SECURITY THREAT

Migration has long been a security-policy concern to Asian governments. But during the Cold War it was discounted by realist theorists as a social or economic problem, and thus relegated to “low politics”, in contrast to the “high politics” of defence and diplomacy. The rise to prominence of concepts of comprehensive security and human security has brought migration into clearer view as a security threat in the post-Cold War period. This is most obvious in the cases of disorderly migrations forced by government oppression or expulsion, or precipitated by war, ethnic violence, or famine. Furthermore, illegal movement by economic migrants facilitated by document forgers, people-smuggling and people-trafficking gangs, and illicit employer networks, and other law-breaking activity such as labour exploitation, extortion, and forced prostitution, have made migration a central topic for security studies. Because realists and liberals differ on the cause and nature of migration problems and the proper policies to address them, political controversy is endemic.

Migration is an Asian security concern from the perspective of not only the migrants but also the source and host states. Migrants, particularly illegal migrants, are at physical risk during their perilous transit and at legal risk and vulnerable to economic exploitation until their status is regularized in their new abode and their rights protected by governments. Migrants’ unauthorized or sudden appearance in the host country can inflame social tensions, raise costs of public services, and unsettle traditional institutions of administration and law enforcement. However, under certain circumstances migration can increase individuals’ security, as in the case of escape from famine in North Korea or joblessness in Indonesia or ethnic war in Myanmar. High-skilled or wealthy migrants can be long-term economic assets to their new home countries. Moreover, migration can help a poor and overcrowded source country by relieving pressure and generating remittances. Conversely, it can threaten the source country by depleting its human capital or providing resources for insurrection. Herein lies the six-fold paradox of migration: It can enhance the security of both the migrant and the source and destination countries, or jeopardize the security of all three, or produce good outcomes for one and simultaneously negative ones for the others. This chapter is concerned with the negative outcomes, for they are associated with security risks and threats.