How to cope with the hundreds of ethnic Rohingya and Bangladeshis setting sail in rickety boats on the Andaman Sea, trying to gain access to Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand for a better life, is a challenge for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Asean will have to show whether it is up to handling the crisis, amid calls for a regional approach to tackling the problem before any more lives are lost at sea.
The crisis has also brought scrutiny on the role of the United States, as it attempts to exercise its "rebalancing'' policy toward Asia.
Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, where hundreds of unwanted boat people have come ashore, raising security and humanitarian concerns, is offering assistance to the Rohingya, though the extent of help offered so far is no match for the size of the problem.
They were forced to act under pressure from the international community, aghast at scenes of Rohingya packed into boats, some of them human smuggling vessels, as they search desperately for a country which will take them. About 7,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis are still thought to be at sea.
Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to take the Rohingya for temporary shelter for one year while Thailand has agreed to provide humanitarian assistance to the boat people.
It will also host an international meeting in Bangkok on Friday to find solutions. At least 17 countries and international organisations are expected to join the meeting.
Myanmar, as the country of origin of the Rohingya refugees, a persecuted minority there, has agreed to join the meeting after initial reluctance.
The US, which will also take part, last week sent deputy secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, to Myanmar last week for talks on the issue.
The US earlier expressed its willingness to allow some Rohingya to settle in the country while Mr Blinken urged Myanmar to grant them citizenship.
Under Myanmar's constitution, the Rohingya have no status as citizens.
Oceans policy adviser in the Office of the Secretary of Defence, Jonathan Odom, said the US's offer to provide humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya was nothing new.
"We have been dealing with refugees for years and work with other countries in the region. We also have a migrant operation centre, but we have to make sure they are treated humanely until they decide where those migrants are going, whether they return to their homeland or are resettled in other countries," he said.
A US security analyst also said he supported creating temporary shelters for the Rohingya before they are returned home or resettled in third countries.
He said Thailand's stance over the Rohingya crisis was understandable as the country has dealt with refugee problems before, but saving people's lives at a time of crisis should be more important.
The US is implementing a rebalancing policy towards Southeast Asia through a diplomatic approach, while regional superpower China has so far said little.
The US has earned a positive reaction after news footage showing Rohingya stranded at sea attracted public sympathy.
A diplomatic source said the US wants to engage with Asean to solve international issues as part of the rebalancing policy, which could boost its influence in the region relative to China's.
The analyst said US interest in the region was likely to remain regardless of the result of next year's US election.
The director of the Rand Centre for Asia Pacific Policy, Fariq Dossani, said the Rohingya crisis was a learning experience for Asean.
It will test whether it can deal with the problem collectively while taking on additional assistance from countries outside the bloc, including the US, he said.
The think tank director said Asean must consider how much humanitarian assistance it can offer, because too many refugees entering countries on the Andaman Sea coastline could trigger security concerns.
"A country cannot be expected to throw open its borders, especially with fear that many, many more refugees will come," he said.
Coordination among regional countries would be a priority, despite the bloc's weakness on human rights issues.
"Asean members are slowly coming to respect human rights. Most were not democratic, even 30 years ago," he said. Even now, the role played by civil society groups was weak.
Asean should strengthen the people's role as they are the centre of the community and can help deal with problems, Mr Dossani said.
