Australia stops 'asylum vessel'

By Phil Mercer
BBC News, Sydney

Previous governments detained asylum seekers in guarded camps

A boat of suspected asylum seekers has been found in Australian waters.

It is the fifth vessel that the authorities have intercepted in the last two months.

Opposition politicians have argued that softer immigration policies have encouraged people smugglers to target Australia.

The government has said there has been a moderate increase in the number of boat people trying to reach the country.

The latest arrivals were spotted by a surveillance plane in the Indian Ocean near Ashmore Island, which is the closest piece of Australian territory to Indonesia.

Thirty-five passengers and five crew members will be taken into custody where those claiming to be refugees will have their claims processed.

Details of their nationalities have not yet been released.

Andreas Schloenhardt, a law lecturer at the University of Queensland, believes that people smugglers are intensifying their activities in the region.

"Most major refugee flows are these days accompanied by a surge in people smuggling activities," he said.

"(These are) people that try to take advantage of people in very desperate situations, trying to make a quick buck by offering them to bring them to safe havens.

"Many people won't ever get there," he said.

Soft target?

In recent weeks four boats carrying suspected asylum seekers from Indonesia have been intercepted by Australian authorities, while a fifth is thought to have sailed from Sri Lanka.

The conservative opposition has blamed lax immigration policies for encouraging boat people to try to reach Australian waters.

Earlier this year, the government abandoned the controversial practice of detaining all asylum seekers and has closed down off-shore processing centres in the South Pacific.

Ministers have said the changes have not made Australia a soft target for people smugglers and have insisted that border protection remains a priority.