A vessel carrying 194 asylum-seekers was intercepted by a Navy patrol boat Sunday near Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island.Almost all are men, and will be taken to the immigration detention centre on Christmas Island, Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said in a statement.
The latest boat brings to 15 the number of vessels to arrive this year, against a total of only seven last year. It's also the largest group of refugees to have arrived in almost 10 years.
The statement did not give the nationalities of those aboard, but most of those arriving recently have been from Afghanistan, the Middle East or Sri Lanka. More than 800 asylum-seekers have arrived since August, when the government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd softened Canberra's treatment of illegal arrivals.
Under former prime minister John Howard, boats were intercepted and those on board taken to Pacific island countries that hosted offshore immigration centres on Canberra's behalf.
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