Chinese asylum seeker boat intercepted off Queensland coast sparks questions over Australia’s border security
- Boat stopped off the coast of Far North Queensland
- A group of Chinese refugees are believed to be on board
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A boat carrying a dozen people believed to be Chinese refugees has been stopped by authorities off the coast of Far North Queensland.
Australian Border Force (ABF), with assistance from Queensland Police, stopped the ship near Weipa, the largest town on the Cape York Peninsula.
It appears that the Chinese national group was detained.
Few details are available, with an ABF spokesman telling the Daily Mail it does not comment on or confirm operational matters.
But reports of a suspected smuggling operation have led to renewed calls to strengthen Australia’s border protection.
“News tonight shows a boatload of illegal Chinese immigrants have been captured in my constituency of Weipa,” Cook MP David Kempton said on Tuesday.
‘I have been defending it for months’ [that] The federal government is taking our porous northern borders seriously following the seizure of dozens of illegal Indonesian fishing vessels in the Torres Strait.
‘The fact that a ship this large can travel so far in Australian waters before being detected proves that there is still a lot to do.
A boat carrying a dozen people believed to be Chinese asylum seekers was stopped off the coast of Far North Queensland (Pictured, asylum seekers arriving on Christmas Island in 2013)
Australian Border Force stopped the boat near Weipa on Cape York Peninsula
It appears that the group of Chinese nationals were detained (Photo, a beach in Nanum Weipa)
‘We must act now before this situation gets out of control.’
At least a dozen refugee boats carrying a total of 80 passengers have reached Australian shores in recent months, according to the Australian Refugee Council.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, anyone attempting an unauthorized boat journey to Australia will be returned to the point of departure, repatriated to their home country or transferred to a third country for processing.
‘Australia has stopped every boat attempting to enter illegally since 2013,’ a statement on the government website says.
‘Every ship is being watched closely. ‘The possibility of illegal migration to Australia is zero.’
