Rejected Rohingya Boat Sighted off Indonesia Coast

A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP
A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP
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Rejected Rohingya Boat Sighted off Indonesia Coast

A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP
A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP

A boat carrying Rohingya refugees that was forced back to sea earlier this week was sighted Saturday several miles off the coast of Indonesia's westernmost region, according to a local commander.
The group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province on Thursday, but residents told them not to land.
The boat traveled to another location in Aceh where a second group of residents again turned them back to sea late Thursday.
A naval commander in Aceh's Lhoksemauwe city told AFP on Saturday that the boat was spotted "this morning" and "looks similar" to the one turned back on Thursday, adding that it was heading east.
"At the moment (the boat) is not visible. Maybe it's beyond the horizon," Andi Susanto said.
"We are still observing the situation and ready to help if needed," he added.
The whereabouts of the boat had remained unknown after it was turned away Thursday night.
The commander said the boat was believed to be a few miles off the coast in waters around North Aceh district.
"The permission for the ship's arrival on the beach is not our authority. As in previous cases, it was handled by the local government with the coastal community and UNHCR (UN refugee agency)," said Susanto.
Thousands from the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority risk their lives each year to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia via long and treacherous sea journeys, often in flimsy boats.
In a statement Friday, UNHCR called on Indonesia to facilitate the boat's landing and provide life-saving assistance to the refugees.
Indonesia, which is not a signatory to a 1951 refugee convention, says it is not compelled to accept arriving Rohingya refugees.
Locals have complained of lacking the resources to absorb hundreds of refugees into their communities.
Nearly 600 Rohingya refugees have reached western Indonesia this week, with 196 arriving on Tuesday and 147 on Wednesday, according to local officials.
More than 2,000 Rohingya are believed to have attempted journeys to Southeast Asian countries in 2022, according to the UN agency.
Nearly 200 Rohingya died or went missing last year while attempting hazardous sea crossings, it estimated.



Russia Says New US Base in Poland Raises Overall Nuclear Danger

FILE PHOTO: Delegates visit the deck house of the American ballistic missile defense base to be integrated into the \"Aegis Ashore\" missile defense system, on the day of its inauguration in Redzikowo, Poland, November 13, 2024. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Delegates visit the deck house of the American ballistic missile defense base to be integrated into the \"Aegis Ashore\" missile defense system, on the day of its inauguration in Redzikowo, Poland, November 13, 2024. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
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Russia Says New US Base in Poland Raises Overall Nuclear Danger

FILE PHOTO: Delegates visit the deck house of the American ballistic missile defense base to be integrated into the \"Aegis Ashore\" missile defense system, on the day of its inauguration in Redzikowo, Poland, November 13, 2024. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Delegates visit the deck house of the American ballistic missile defense base to be integrated into the \"Aegis Ashore\" missile defense system, on the day of its inauguration in Redzikowo, Poland, November 13, 2024. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that a new US ballistic missile defense base in northern Poland will lead to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger and was on a Russian targeting list for potential destruction if necessary.
The air defense base, situated in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, part of a broader NATO missile shield, was opened on Nov. 13.
"This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilizing actions by the Americans and their allies in the North Atlantic Alliance in the strategic sphere," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"This leads to undermining strategic stability, increasing strategic risks and, as a result, to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger."
The US base at Redzikowo is part of a broader NATO missile shield, dubbed "Aegis Ashore", which the alliance says can intercept short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
"Given the nature and level of threats posed by such Western military facilities, the missile defense base in Poland has long been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction, which, if necessary, can be executed with a wide range of advanced weapons," Zakharova said.
The NATO missile shield includes sites in Poland, Romania as well as US navy destroyers at a naval base in Spain and an early warning radar in Türkiye, according to NATO.