Wooden boat with nine Chinese people on board is intercepted by Australian Border Force and turned back

A wooden boat carrying nine Chinese citizens attempted to reach Australia before being intercepted by Australian Border Force and turned away.

The passengers were rescued by fishermen off Southern Java in Indonesia after claiming they were forced back into Indonesian waters by Australian authorities. 

The Chinese passengers, along with three Indonesian crew members, were taken to the port town of Pelabuhan Ratu.

They told Indonesian authorities they had been held at sea for five days by an Australian naval boat, before being turned back.

Those on board told Indonesian police their wooden boat had become disabled and was drifting about 65kms off Java, when they were rescued by fishermen and taken to Pelabuhan Ratu on Saturday afternoon, reported The Weekend Australian.

The port has long been known as a departure point for illegal smuggling vessels.

It is the fourth known attempt Chinese national groups have made to break through to Australia in 2024, after having been told by smugglers that asylum awaits them should they make landfall. 

The Indonesian crew members told the local authorities different statements, with one saying they had been 'captured by the Australian navy' who transferred them all to a new 'lifeboat' before pushing them back to Indonesia.

Another claimed the navy had sent them back in their original boat. 

Indonesian intelligence also questioned if the men had even been rescued by local fishermen or if they had in fact been picked up the local smuggling network who attempted to cover-up their involvement. 

All passengers and crew continue to be interrogated in Pelabuhan Ratu. 

Their detention indicates an increase in attempts by mainland Chinese nationals to reach Australia by boat in small groups.

In the past, Chinese citizens have been more likely to fly into Australia and claim asylum.  

Opposition Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson told The Weekend Australian that another attempt by smugglers to cross the country’s borders showed the government’s 'failure' to properly monitor and secure it.

'People smugglers are continuing to test Australia’s borders because of the Albanese government’s failure to deliver adequate maritime patrol data and aerial surveillance hours,' he said. 

'Unless Labor shows strength and restores operation sovereign borders the boats will continue to come, and some will break through all the way to the Australian mainland again.'