In the past two weeks, Australia has once again turned back a boat of asylum seekers attempting to reach its shores, forcing them to return to their original departure point in Indonesia. The group consisted of 44 individuals, including 36 Bangladeshi and eight Rohingya individuals who were intercepted while trying to reach Australia from West Java’s southern coast by the Australian Border Force (ABF.
The outlet reports that local authorities detailed how the ABF detained the group on their vessel for 18 days at sea, refusing them permission to land in Australia. Afterward, they provided the asylum seekers with two modern speed boats each equipped with enough fuel, food, water, and a compass bearing for 22 people to sail back to Indonesia’s southernmost island located about 286 km from Australia’s Ashmore Reef.
Rote Ndao Police Chief Mardiono informed The Australian newspaper that the group had run out of almost all their supplies when they arrived on his island. They beached the boats when they see land because they’ve run out of fuel. When we checked the boats, they’ve run out of everything so they had no other choice than to land. I think (Australian authorities) have calculated how much fuel they need to get here,” he said.
The 44 men on Rote are currently being processed by Indonesian immigration authorities as police found no indication that they were smugglers themselves. This incident marks the second time in as many weeks where Australian authorities have given a group of asylum seekers fully-provisioned boats and instructed them to head back to Indonesia.
Last month, another boat carrying nine Chinese nationals was also turned back by ABF officials, forcing the passengers to return to their departure point in Indonesia, as reported by Breitbart News. This event marked the fourth known attempt made by Chinese national groups to break through to Australia in 2024 after being told by people smugglers that they would be granted asylum upon reaching Australian soil.
Australia has had one of the most stringent anti-migrant boat policies globally and has never hesitated to push back vessels carrying intended illegal migrants. Operation Sovereign Borders, introduced by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott in 2013, sees smuggler boats intercepted at sea, with their passengers either returned to where they came from or taken to offshore processing centers.
Legitimate asylum seekers have been settled in third countries at Australia’s expense. The nation’s firm stance on migration has led to a significant reduction in the number of successful people smuggling ventures, with no reported incidents over the past year.