Indonesia’s navy pushes a boat suspected of carrying Rohingya refugees out of its waters
Indonesia’s navy said that it forcibly pushed a boat packed with refugees back to international waters after the vessel approached the shores of Aceh province.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s navy said Thursday that it forcibly pushed a boat packed with refugees back to international waters after the vessel approached the shores of Aceh province.
The province that forms part of Sumatra island has seen an increasing number of arriving boats, most carrying Rohingya refugees from southern Bangladesh. Large numbers of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in 2017 following military attacks on members of the persecuted Muslim minority in their homeland of Myanmar.
The Indonesian navy said a coast guard vessel detected a boat thought to be carrying Rohingya refugees entering Indonesia’s waters on Wednesday. A helicopter from a navy ship subsequently spotted a wooden vessel nearing Weh island in the northern part of Aceh province, the navy said.
The navy ship KRI Bontang-907 located the boat about 63 nautical miles (72 miles) off the Indonesian coast and drove it out, “ensuring that the boat did not return to Indonesian waters,” the navy said in a statement posted on its website.
Indonesia has appealed to the international community for help and intensified patrols of its waters due to a sharp rise in Rohingya refugees leaving overcrowded camps in Bangladesh since November. Over 1,500 Rohingya have arrived in Aceh and faced some hostility from fellow Muslims.
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