Australia stops 'asylum' vessel 澳大利亚截取“寻求庇护者”船

An Australian navy ship has intercepted a boat carrying nearly 60 suspected asylum seekers - the fourth such incident in less than two weeks.

一搜澳大利亚军舰截取了一艘载有将近60名寻求庇护者的船只，这是不到两个星期之内发生的第四次此类事件。

Australia has recently seen a surge in asylum seekers arriving on boats

The boat was stopped some 420km (265 miles) north of Broome in Western Australia, officials said.

Those on board were being sent to an immigration detention centre on Christmas Island, about 2,575km (1,600 miles) north-west of the mainland.

The nationalities of the suspects were not immediately known.

"Situations around the world mean that large numbers of displaced persons are looking for settlement in wealthy, developed nations like Australia and can be targeted by, and fall prey to, people-smugglers," Australian Home Minister Brendan O'Connor said.

"The Australian government remains vigilant（警醒的，警惕的） and committed to protecting Australia's borders."

The minister also said Canberra would work closely with neighbouring nations to tackle people-smuggling.

The government has blamed the recent rise in asylum（庇护，收容所） seekers on the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, along with the global economic downturn.

Australia's opposition has linked the upsurge（起浪，涌起） with a relaxation of the country's immigration policy since Kevin Rudd became prime minister in late 2007.

The Rudd government scrapped（废弃） the widely-criticised policy of his predecessor, John Howard, under which asylum-seekers and their children were detained for years in special centres in Nauru or Papua New Guinea, a plan labelled the "Pacific Solution".

Asylum-seekers now arriving by boat are held on Christmas Island, but their claims must be expedited（加快，促进）, with six-monthly case reviews by an ombudsman（调查官员舞弊情况的政府官员） now government policy.