Residents' fears after a boatload of Chinese men arrived in north-west Western Australia and walked into an airbase undetected
Residents along WA's northern coastline have raised concerns that a boatload of Chinese people were able to walk ashore onto an airbase long before they were detected by authorities.
The boat carrying 15 Chinese citizens landed at the remote Mungalalu Truscott Airbase in earlier April, and it took days for an Australian Defence Force operation to track 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.'
Madeline Gallagher-Dann, the CEO of the Kalumburu Community near to where a group of illegal immigrants walked ashore undetected, said she is concerned the local Indigenous population is vulnerable to viruses and diseases
A group of around 15 asylum seekers arrived by boat to a remote (pictured) part of Western Australia. Four illegal boats have landed undetected since last November
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 an insufficient 'kneejerk' reaction and there needs to be 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 - consisting of seven councils along the north-west WA coast - which says residents 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?' Mr Nikkula said.
'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 was not tracked down until much later.
Exmouth Council President Matthew Nikkula said the north-west WA coast is vulnerable and in need of tightened security (left). One of the Chinese nationals was not found until well after the rest of the group with drones deployed to search for him (right)
A charter jet reportedly flew from Mungalalu Truscott Airbase (pictured) to Perth with some of the asylum seekers but one man was missing and not found until days later
Drones launched from Truscott Airbase have been patrolling the coastline (pictured) since November but the illegal arrivals were still able to walk onto the airbase undetected
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 with Indonesian wrappers left behind by the groups.
The pair said not only are locals at risk but so are the immigrants, as they are often piled unprepared onto rickety boats by people smugglers, and when they are dumped ashore there is no food and water plus crocodiles lurking in the mangroves.
Australian Border Force said it had sufficient resources in the area.
'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.
An illegal Indonesian fishing vessel is stopped by Australian authorities off the Kimberley coast in March (pictured)
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 to preserve the fish, and 20 kilograms of sea cucumber which is known in Indonesia as trepang.
The boats were 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.
