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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Wing Kuang

Australia refuses to say how many Chinese nationals are arriving by boat, saying it may damage bilateral relations

United States Australia Guardian Australia Police Indonesia
An aerial view of the Kimberley coast, north of Broome
The Kimberley coast, north of Broome. Media reports from January 2024 to December 2025 show that at least three boats that carried Chinese nationals reached Australia. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

The Australian government has refused to reveal how many Chinese nationals have arrived in Australia by boat since 2024, saying that disclosing the figure may harm relations with other countries.

However, reports by Indonesian police show that there has been a consistent trend of Chinese nationals attempting to reach Australia through Indonesia as an alternative to “zouxian”, or “walking the line” – the illegal migration route through Central America to the US via the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama.

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