FEARS AFTER A BOATLOAD OF CHINESE MEN ARRIVED ON AUSTRALIAN COASTLINE
Residents along WA's northern coastline have raised concerns after a boatload of Chinese nationals were able to walk ashore onto an airbase long before they were detected by authorities.
In early April the boat carrying 15 Chinese citizens landed at the remote Mungalalu Truscott Airbase, but it wasn't until days later that an Australian Defence Force operation tracked them all down.
It was the fourth people smuggling boat to arrive in the area since November last year, despite the government patrolling the area with unmanned drones launched from the very same airbase the illegal immigrants had wandered onto.
Madeline Gallagher-Dann, the CEO of the mostly Indigenous nearby community of Kalumburu, said she was worried at the possibility of more undetected arrivals.
'It's pretty scary thinking they got this far and made it to land not far from us,' she told the ABC's 7.30.
'(Border protection) could be done a lot better because we are open and vulnerable here.
'Imagine walking down the beach and running into those guys. Not only that, their health could also be an issue, they could harbour viruses or diseases that could impact the people here.'
Unmanned drones have been patrolling the stretch of coastline since December in support of Operation Sovereign Borders after another boatload of illegal immigrants from Pakistan made it to shore a month earlier.
But Exmouth Council Shire President Matthew Nikkula said the drone surveillance was a 'kneejerk' reaction and the fact that more boats have since arrived has highlighted the need for a permanent presence to guard Australia's north-west coast.
'How on earth did this happen? Is our coast that lightly defended?' he said.
'If a random boat can arrive and people can walk into an airbase, what else is happening in the north?'
He is chair of the North West Defence Alliance who are calling for a government commitment to strengthen border security in the region.
The alliance, consisting of seven councils along the north-west WA coast, say they are at risk of biosecurity breaches, drug drops and potential attacks on the export infrastructure in the Pilbara.
'Yes, four boats have been detected over the last six months but that just raises the question of how many are getting through and just how easy is it to land on the coastline?
'We need to see key assets and infrastructure here and a lot more presence.'
Defence Force personnel were dispatched to the area after the Chinese nationals made it to shore and a charter jet flew out from Truscott Airbase to Perth with some of the asylum seekers on board more than 24 hours later.
But at least one of the group was a unaccounted for and wasn't tracked down until much later.
Indigenous elder Les French said Indonesian boats regularly conduct illegal fishing around Niiwalarra Island and they can often see boat lights and campfires in the distance.
Some years ago, he found a group of Indonesian men who had turned up on the coast and kept watch on them, armed with a shotgun, until authorities arrived hours later.
His grandson, Lancho Davey, who runs a tourism business taking visitors to Honeymoon Bay, a short distance from Truscott, said he regularly finds piles of rubbish containing Indonesian wrappers left behind by the groups.
The pair said not only are locals at risk but so are the immigrants, often piled unprepared onto boats by people smugglers, with food and water scarce in the area and crocodiles lurking the mangroves.
Australian Border Force said in a statement it was focused on the region.
'A combination of Australian Defence Force and ABF aerial and maritime assets are always postured to detect and intercept maritime people smuggling ventures in Australia's key maritime threat corridors,' a spokesperson said.
'In 2023-24, additional assets were deployed to support the posture.
'The ABF does not go into specifics about capability assessments and requirements, other than to say that we are adequately resourced and prepared to address … maritime security threats.'
This week the Maritime Border Command, a multi-agency task force utilising Australian Border Force and Australian Defence Force assets, said it had stopped three illegal fishing boats in the region last month.
In partnership with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority it said it had intercepted two of the vessels in the Kimberley Marine Park and the other in the Rowley Shoals Marine Park.
The taskforce seized fishing equipment, 100 kilograms of salt used for preserving catch and 20 kilograms of sea cucumber which is known in Indonesia as trepang.
The boats were lawfully disposed of at sea with the crew from each vessel transported to Darwin.
Fifteen crew were charged with offences against the Fisheries Management Act and pleaded guilty at Darwin Local Court on April 11.
Authorities said a range of financial penalties were imposed totaling $31,300.
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