Migration issues - validity of claim to use military to turn back boats
Friday 12 July 2013 @ 9.12 a.m. | Immigration
Moves by an Australian government to use special forces to board merchant vessels carrying asylum seekers could spark international diplomatic incidents, a law of the sea expert has said in an article in the Age.
The ANU's Professor Don Rothwell was responding to opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison saying the Special Air Service could be brought in to help repel asylum seekers trying to reach Australia's shores.
In strong rhetoric that recalled the 2001 election, dominated by debate over the MV Tampa, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Australia would not be ''played for mugs by the people smugglers and their customers''.
On Tuesday, 9 July 2013, Maltese oil and chemical tanker Sichem Hawk came to the aid of 34 asylum seekers and two crew after their boat got into trouble on the way to Christmas Island. The boat was reportedly in international waters, between the Indonesian island of Java and Christmas Island.
Sources:
Lawyer warns of legal issues (the Age)
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