As a consequence of Operation Sovereign Borders, Australia has stopped 300 asylum seekers travelling by boat to enter Australia since September 2017
At least 10 alleged attempts have been made in the past 14 months by asylum seekers to enter Australia by boat – and they were all foiled. With the assistance of international authorities, Australia has blocked nearly 300 asylum seekers – from mostly Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia – from entering into the country since September 2017, reveal documents obtained under the freedom of information from the federal home affairs department. These documents also record the number of “foreign law enforcement agency” (FLEA) disruptions since 2013.
In September 2013, the freshly elected Abbott-Coalition government launched Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) policy to “Stop the Boats”. It was military-led and formed a part of Australia’s foreign policy in the face of escalating mass migration from the third-world countries. As per policy, these boats are sent back to their departure destinations. The FLEA disruptions were one of the three components of this policy, along with blocking of boats and off-shore detention and processing. The operations also involve months of intelligence sourcing to gauge the plans for people-smuggling acts. There have been 614 such noted arrests since 2013, most being in Sri Lanka. Since the establishment of this operation, 2525 illegal immigrant-disruptions have been reported.
The influx of these migrants is resultant of the unstable geo-political situation in such countries, for example Indonesia, where there are no basic rights. Refugees who arrive in Indonesia from other countries (especially from Afghanistan) have no such facilities as Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, and thus has no status determination system of its own.
In 2010-11, 89.6 per cent of asylum seekers arriving by boat to Australia were found to be refugees, compared to 43.7 per cent of those who arrived with valid visas. Such asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants, as Australia is a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and is obligated to recognise the rights of refugees, particularly those of asylum seekers, even if they enter without a valid visa.
Recently, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave the states to decide their own migrant entry limit, considering the infrastructural capacities of each region.
