VOA标准英语2010年-Australia Seeks Indonesian Support for

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, left, shakes hands with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa before a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, 15 July 2010

Australia's foreign minister is in Jakarta, explaining Canberra's controversial new asylum¹ policy. Indonesia has expressed concern about Australia's plans for a regional refugee processing center in East Timor, fearing additional asylum seekers will flood into the region.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has held talks with his counterpart, Marty Natalegawa, in the Indonesian capital, to discuss Canberra's plans to build a refugee transit² camp in neighboring East Timor.

Offshore³ processing center

Australia believes an offshore processing center would deter⁴ asylum seekers, who continue to arrive by boat in its remote northern waters.

Almost 80 vessels⁵ have been intercepted⁶ by Australian authorities, so far this year. The steady flow of unauthorized arrivals has made border protection a sensitive issue for the government in Canberra, with an election likely to be held in the coming months.

The plan to establish a refugee facility has been rejected by East Timor's parliament, although Australia believes it can convince the country's leadership to support the idea.

Australia needs Indonesia's backing too, as well as agreement from other Western countries which would likely accept refugees from the camp in East Timor.

Will plan go forward?

Smith believes the plan will only proceed with the backing of Indonesia, which signed a bilateral⁷ accord with Australia to combat people smuggling⁸ in 2002.

"We need to have regional support, either through the Bali process formally or generally throughout the region," Smith said. "Having Indonesia's support, of course, is absolutely essential. Cooperation of the settlement and re-settlement countries is also required to re-settle people who have already been accorded refugee status by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) in our region."

Australia is anxious to open a new regional asylum processing center, to diffuse⁹ a simmering political row about immigration.

Border control

Conservative lawmakers accuse the left-of-center government of losing control of Australia's maritime¹⁰ borders through what they say are soft asylum policies, a charge senior ministers have strongly rejected.

Australia's main immigration detention¹¹ center at Christmas Island is full and detainees have been flown to the mainland while their claims for refugee status are processed.

About 13,000 refugees are allowed to resettle in Australia, every year, under various international humanitarian¹² programs.

 

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

3 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

4 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

7 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

8 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

9 diffuse   

v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的

参考例句：

• Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.直射光比漫射光更有利于阅读。
• His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point.他的谈话漫无边际，我抓不住他的要点。

10 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

11 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

12 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。