Australia signaled a tougher line on refugees from Indonesia's troubled province of West Papua yesterday, saying boats carrying asylum seekers could be turned back in future.
The warning by Justice Minister Chris Ellison came amid a growing diplomatic dispute over the granting of temporary protection visas to 42 Papuans which has seen Indonesia recall its ambassador from Canberra.
The refugees, including several independence activists and their families who said they feared persecution by Indonesian authorities, arrived by boat on Australia's far north coast in mid-January.
But as the government tries to limit the damage to fragile relations with its neighbor, Ellison indicated that future asylum seekers from West Papua might not make it to Australia's shores.
"We've put in place measures for dealing with people who try to enter our country illegally, and you've seen what we've done in the past and our policy has not changed," he told a national radio broadcaster in an interview.
Asked whether boats carrying West Papuans would be forced back to Indonesia, Ellison replied: "Well it will depend on the circumstances in which we intercept these people, but certainly they will be dealt with as we would deal with any other attempts at illegal entrance into Australia."
He dismissed a suggestion that forcing refugees back to a place where they could face persecution was a breach of international law.
"The international law that we're upholding is our sovereignty in that we're maintaining our borders," he said.
Ellison's comments were the latest in a string of government efforts aimed at both appeasing the Indonesians and discouraging other West Papuans from attempting to reach Australia.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Friday repeated his support for a united Indonesia and said the government would review how visas are granted to boatpeople from West Papua.
He linked the efforts to maintain good relations with Indonesia to the fight against Islamic militancy and terrorism.
Howard's remarks were seen by some analysts as indicating that the government would try to intercept asylum seekers at sea.
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