The latest experiment in slipping into Australia,though from a rare cohort,was thwarted by a tip-off from the Australian Federal Police and the reluctance of local fishermen to make the journey,according to Patar Silalahi,the crime chief of West Timor Police.
An illegal fishing boat destroyed by Australian Border Force in 2021.Supplied
Boats are again a sensitive topic for the Australian government following recent landings in Western Australia and a High Court decision that have spurred attacks from the opposition over border security.
Patar said the group of 15 entered Indonesia with valid visas through the holiday island of Bali,before venturing far from the tourist trail to Kupang City,about 500 kilometres from the northern coastline of Western Australia.
It was there the men were allegedly asking fishermen about how to reach Australia,until they were rounded up by police on Friday and Saturday.
“We received tips from our counterpart,the AFP,about a group of foreigners who might try to make a journey across to Australia,” Patar said. “Our intelligence officers confirmed the information,so we brought in the foreigners for questioning.
“The fishermen,we brought them in for questioning,too. They told the Chinese men it’s illegal to cross to Australia,and the weather is not conducive even if they tried.” The weather reference was about the heavy monsoon conditions that hamper fishing this time of year.
The Chinese men had their Indonesian visas in order and were believed to have returned to Bali on Monday.
“They all have been released,” Patar said. “We can’t arrest people for asking questions.”
The AFP has been contacted for comment and confirmation of its intelligence offerings.
A dozen arrived at a remote section of the Kimberley in late November. All were believed to have departed from Indonesia.
Most individuals in these groups were from the subcontinent,particularly Pakistan,and it is unusual for Chinese nationals to scope out a boat attempt.
Indonesian media reported in January 2020 of a voyage by six Chinese and an Indonesian crew that became stranded off Rote Island and was discovered by authorities.
It was unclear if the present group wished to escape the repressive regime of the Chinese Communist Party or was only hoping to find work.
affecting employment,investment and property. Many public servants have had their bonuses slashed,while wealthy Chinese have been increasingly travelling abroad with their money since President Xi Jinping lifted COVID-era travel restrictions.
In November,a landmark Australian High Court decision ordered the government to release immigration detainees who had no prospect of being safely or reasonably deported.
The opposition used the decision to accuse Labor of not legislating appropriately,and therefore giving people smugglers a fresh pitch to vulnerable and desperate targets.
The arrivals in February intensified the criticism,leading Royal Australian Navy Rear-Admiral Brett Sonter to warn that “alternate narratives” of a weakened Operation Sovereign Borders could be “exploited by criminal people smugglers to deceive potential irregular immigrants and convince them to risk their lives and travel to Australia by boat”.
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