illusion8
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SYDNEYA major rescue effort is under way after a boat carrying up to 200 asylum seekers capsized off the coast of Australia's remote Christmas Island on Thursday, in an incident likely to again turn the spotlight on border control policies.
An unknown number of survivors are clinging to the hull of the vessel and the Australian air force has deployed life rafts for survivors in the water around 118 nautical miles north of the island, a spokesman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.
A large commercial shipping vessel is also on the scene after responding to Australian calls for assistance after customs and border protection officials spotted the capsized boat mid-afternoon, he said.
An Australian navy patrol boat is due to arrive shortly, with another on the way as authorities scramble to pull survivors from the water before nightfall, the spokesman said.
The boat capsized in Indonesian waters and the rescue efforts are being coordinated by Indonesia, which is a common staging point for refugees seeking to reach Australia.
Christmas Island, around 220 miles south of Java and around 1,600 miles from the Australian mainland, is a front line for Australia's border protection and a black spot for the often rickety boats that smugglers use to transport people seeking asylum. Hundreds have died making the perilous crossing, inflaming tensions around what was already a thorny issue for the minority Labor government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Christmas Island's population is composed predominantly of asylum seekers, with about 2,000 refugees and detention-center staff living there. The island, surrounded by steep cliffs and a hazardous reef, has been excised from Australia's migration zone so asylum seekers traveling by boat are taken there rather than to the mainland.
Boat Carrying Asylum Seekers Capsizes Off Christmas Island - WSJ.com
AUSTRALIA could soon face a fresh wave of asylum-seeker boats with Indonesia set to remove a number of major source countries from its immigration red list.
Indonesia will relax visa restrictions on Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi citizens later this month, posing an increased threat to the Gillard government's ability to control Australia's borders.
The move comes despite the Indonesian Immigration Office having identified Sri Lanka - along with Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan - as a main source of asylum-seekers heading to Australia by boat.
Afghanistan and Pakistan could also soon be removed from the red list under changes which were first announced in January, but have been delayed.
Just 10 per cent of Sri Lankans who enter Indonesia exit the country legally.
According to the Immigration Office, about 90 per cent of Sri Lankans in Indonesia could not be located.
Law and Human Rights Ministry travel documents chief Budi Satria Wibawa confirmed initial changes to the red list but wouldn't say if the plan to ease visa rules for people from Afghanistan and Pakistan would still go ahead.
There are already more than 3500 registered refugees in Indonesia - the chief transit point for asylum seekers heading to Australia - with about 2000 of the total number from Afghanistan.
The removal of Afghanistan from Indonesia's immigration red list could see that number grow significantly, presenting a greater potential for more asylum seeker boat traffic to Australia.
The development comes as Prime Minister Julia Gillard continues to face pressure over her asylum-seeker policy following the interception on Sunday of three boats carrying a total of 305 suspected asylum-seekers.
Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian
An unknown number of survivors are clinging to the hull of the vessel and the Australian air force has deployed life rafts for survivors in the water around 118 nautical miles north of the island, a spokesman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.
A large commercial shipping vessel is also on the scene after responding to Australian calls for assistance after customs and border protection officials spotted the capsized boat mid-afternoon, he said.
An Australian navy patrol boat is due to arrive shortly, with another on the way as authorities scramble to pull survivors from the water before nightfall, the spokesman said.
The boat capsized in Indonesian waters and the rescue efforts are being coordinated by Indonesia, which is a common staging point for refugees seeking to reach Australia.
Christmas Island, around 220 miles south of Java and around 1,600 miles from the Australian mainland, is a front line for Australia's border protection and a black spot for the often rickety boats that smugglers use to transport people seeking asylum. Hundreds have died making the perilous crossing, inflaming tensions around what was already a thorny issue for the minority Labor government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Christmas Island's population is composed predominantly of asylum seekers, with about 2,000 refugees and detention-center staff living there. The island, surrounded by steep cliffs and a hazardous reef, has been excised from Australia's migration zone so asylum seekers traveling by boat are taken there rather than to the mainland.
Boat Carrying Asylum Seekers Capsizes Off Christmas Island - WSJ.com
AUSTRALIA could soon face a fresh wave of asylum-seeker boats with Indonesia set to remove a number of major source countries from its immigration red list.
Indonesia will relax visa restrictions on Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi citizens later this month, posing an increased threat to the Gillard government's ability to control Australia's borders.
The move comes despite the Indonesian Immigration Office having identified Sri Lanka - along with Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan - as a main source of asylum-seekers heading to Australia by boat.
Afghanistan and Pakistan could also soon be removed from the red list under changes which were first announced in January, but have been delayed.
Just 10 per cent of Sri Lankans who enter Indonesia exit the country legally.
According to the Immigration Office, about 90 per cent of Sri Lankans in Indonesia could not be located.
Law and Human Rights Ministry travel documents chief Budi Satria Wibawa confirmed initial changes to the red list but wouldn't say if the plan to ease visa rules for people from Afghanistan and Pakistan would still go ahead.
There are already more than 3500 registered refugees in Indonesia - the chief transit point for asylum seekers heading to Australia - with about 2000 of the total number from Afghanistan.
The removal of Afghanistan from Indonesia's immigration red list could see that number grow significantly, presenting a greater potential for more asylum seeker boat traffic to Australia.
The development comes as Prime Minister Julia Gillard continues to face pressure over her asylum-seeker policy following the interception on Sunday of three boats carrying a total of 305 suspected asylum-seekers.
Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian
