Wooden boat with nine Chinese people on board is intercepted by Australian Border Force and turned back
A wooden boat with Chinese citizens on board attempted to reach Australia before being intercepted by the Australian Border Force and turned away.
Nine Chinese citizens were rescued by fishermen off the coast of South Java in Indonesia after they claimed they were forced back into Indonesian waters by Australian authorities.
The Chinese passengers were taken to the port city of Pelabuhan Ratu along with three Indonesian crew members.
They told Indonesian authorities they had been held at sea by an Australian navy boat for five days before being returned.
The passengers told Indonesian police that their wooden boat had become unusable and drifted about 40 miles (65 km) off Java when they were rescued by fishermen on Saturday afternoon and taken to Pelabuhan Ratu. The Weekend Australia.
Nine Chinese citizens and three Indonesian crew said they were rescued by local fishermen before being taken to Pelabuhan Ratu port in South Java (pictured)
The port has long been known as a departure point for illegal smuggling ships.
It is the fourth known attempt by Chinese national groups to break through to Australia in 2024, after being told by smugglers that asylum will be waiting for them when they land.
The Indonesian crew members gave several statements to local authorities, with one saying they had been ‘captured by the Australian Navy’, who transferred them all to a new ‘rescue boat’ before pushing them back to Indonesia.
Another claimed the Navy sent them back in their original boat.
Indonesian intelligence also questioned whether the men had been rescued by local fishermen or whether they had actually been captured by the local smuggling network that tried to cover up their involvement.
More to come
