For the second time in as many weeks, Australia has returned illegal immigrants aboard a boat, forcing the asylum seekers back to their port of departure in Indonesia.
The group of 44 men landed on a remote Indonesian island after Australian authorities gave them a speedboat loaded with supplies and told them to set off, according to Sky News. Reports.
Local authorities said the group of 36 Bangladeshis and eight Rohingya were attempting to reach Australia from the southern coast of West Java when they were intercepted by the Australian Broader Force (ABF), the media reported.
They were held at sea on board for 18 days and not allowed to go ashore, but were provided with two modern speedboats, each equipped with fuel, food, water for 22 people and a compass to navigate back to Indonesia’s southernmost island, about 286 kilometers from Australia’s Ashmore Reef.
Related: Australian Border Force warns people attempting illegal boat entry
Police Chief Maldiono of Rote Ndao Said Australia According to the newspaper, when the group arrived on his island, their supplies were nearly exhausted.
“They had run out of fuel and when they saw land they beached their boat. We checked the boat and it had run out of fuel so they had no option but to go ashore. I think (Australian authorities) calculated how much fuel they would need to get here,” he said.
The 44 men on board the Rote are currently being processed by Indonesian immigration authorities after police found no evidence that they were smugglers themselves.
It is reportedly the second time in recent weeks that the Australian government has provided a group of asylum seekers with boats equipped with food and instructed them to return to Indonesia.
Farage: More people will die if Australia doesn’t turn back migrant boats https://t.co/VcUUyzbNiu
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 3, 2020
Last month, a boat carrying nine Chinese nationals was turned away by ABF authorities and the passengers were forced to return to their point of departure in Indonesia, Breitbart News reported.
This is known to be the fourth attempt to cross into Australia in 2024 by a group of Chinese nationals who were told by smugglers that asylum awaited them once they landed.
Australia has long had some of the toughest anti-migrant shipping policies in the world and is not shy about turning away ships carrying illegal immigrants.
Australia’s immigration success: No “successful smuggling operations” in a single year http://t.co/IFy6EvZaIz pic.twitter.com/hKlGfNnovD
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 7, 2015
Operation Sovereign BorderThe legislation, introduced by former prime minister Tony Abbott in 2013, would allow smuggling boats to be intercepted at sea and migrants either returned to their places of origin or taken to offshore processing centres.
Migrants found to be legitimate asylum seekers are resettled in third countries at Australia’s expense.
