Asylum seekers continue to arrive on Australian shores

CANBERRA, June 29 — The Australian government said on Monday that they anticipated more asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat after the navy picked up another suspected illegal-entry vessel.

The boat carrying 194 asylum seekers headed to Christmas Island for health and security checks on Sunday.

Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans said while there was a surge of people moving through southeast Asia trying to escape violence from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, there would be more people reaching Australia by boat.

"We're absolutely determined to try and combat people smuggling, but there's no end in sight in terms of the numbers of people moving through southeast Asia," Evans told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

Evans admitted the government was "very concerned" about the continued arrival of unauthorized boat people.

"We've seen some signs of success but obviously it was very disappointing to see this boat arrive yesterday," he said.

Christmas Island would cope with the recent influx of arrivals "but we also have contingency plans in place if we need more capacity", Evans added. (PNA/Xinhua)

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