As US borders tighten, Australia becomes the new target for desperate Chinese migrants

Australia is emerging as an alternative destination in global people smuggling routes involving Chinese nationals, as tougher US border controls push smuggling networks to test new maritime pathways through South-East Asia.

Last week six Chinese nationals who arrived in Australia by sea were found in a remote Indigenous community in Western Australia and detained by border authorities.

WA Police said the group had travelled on an unidentified vessel and was believed to be part of a larger attempt to reach the country by boat. A Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat beached on a beach with border force agents and two men in life vests.

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Similar incidents have been recorded in Western Australia and the Northern Territory over the past year, and migration lawyer Sean Dong says he is seeing an increasing number of attempts by people from China.

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While Chinese nationals arriving by sea remain rare, the case points to a broader rerouting of irregular migration from China, known as "walking the route", driven by tougher US border controls under the Trump administration.

With fewer legal migration options available, smugglers are using countries in South-East Asia such as Indonesia as transit hubs to probe Australia's maritime frontier.

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"Walking the route" refers to Chinese nationals using irregular and often dangerous pathways to leave China and reach other countries without legal documents, visas or formal migration channels.

The term first became widely known in China through journeys to the US via Latin America and the Mexico border, but it is now also used to describe attempts to reach Australia by sea.

These journeys are typically organised by people smuggling syndicates, commonly referred to as "snakeheads", who coordinate transport, transit points and illegal border crossings.

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Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, told the ABC that many people are unaware of the scale of Operation Sovereign Borders, the policy introduced in 2013 to prevent maritime arrivals of asylum seekers.

"I think some people still believe that there is a general humanitarian reputation in Australia," he said.

Mr Rintoul said Chinese asylum seekers were not unusual in this regard, and often faced the same constraints as others who had attempted irregular journeys.

Many, he said, had no realistic way to migrate legally, either because of poverty or because they were unable to obtain the necessary travel documents.

Others may avoid formal travel channels because they are known to authorities — including political activists or members of persecuted ethnic or religious minorities — leaving few options beyond irregular routes.

"For them, travelling by plane may not be possible."

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