Bangladesh has resurrected a plan to relocate thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Arakan State to a flooded island in the Bay of Bengal to prevent them from “intermingling” with Bangladeshi citizens.

Was it a step forward or a flop? Whatever the verdict is, the 19 December “retreat” of ASEAN foreign ministers in Burma on the touchy Rohingya issue was itself the message.

Experts have warned that decades of treating the Rohingya as a thorn in the nation’s side is tantamount to doing the legwork for forces that would seek to radicalise the next generation of Rohingya.

As Burma’s army was stepping up an anti-insurgency operation in the country’s northwest in October, senior officers cancelled talks with their Bangladeshi counterparts, straining ties with a key potential ally in dealing with the violence on their border.

The United Nations urged State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday to visit the country’s divided Arakan State to reassure civilians they will be protected amid accusations that soldiers have raped Rohingya Muslim women houses and killed civilians.

The former UN chief said both issues had been discussed with Aung San Suu Kyi and Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing.