The Indonesian Navy pushed back a vessel carrying Rohingya refugees which was detected in Indonesian waters on Wednesday. The vessel was intercepted around 63 nautical miles off the coast of Aceh, a semi-autonomous Indonesian province located on the northwestern tip of Sumatra island. After the interception, the navy shadowed the boat until it left Indonesian territorial waters. The navy claimed there were trafficking victims on board.
This incident happens in the context of escalating tension between Indonesia and the Rohingya. In an earlier incident, a large group of Indonesian students stormed a local community center in Banda Aceh, where Rohingya refugees had found shelter. Despite police cordons, the students managed to force 137 refugees to be relocated from the community center, the majority of whom were women and children, as reported by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The Rohingya, a majority-Muslim ethnic group from Myanmar, are not considered one of the country’s 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively becoming stateless. Their plight has led many Rohingya to flee violent persecution in Myanmar, escaping to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Malaysia. Over 1,500 Rohingya refugees are estimated to have landed in Indonesia via boat since November, according to UNHCR data.
Despite not being a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, which calls upon states not to expel or return a refugee where they could face threats to life, Indonesia has provided shelter to the Rohingya since the start of a genocide against them in 2017. However, following recent violence, Indonesian authorities have called on Myanmar to stop the violence against the Rohingya and appealed for international aid in ramping up maritime patrols.
The sailing season for the Rohingya is typically between November and April, when seas are calmer. Currently, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are displaced in refugee camps in Bangladesh, or are facing detainment and violent persecution back in Myanmar.