View source for Ashmore and Cartier Islands

{{Short description|External territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox islands
| name               = Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
| image              = Flag of Australia (converted).svg
| image_caption      = [[Flag of Australia]], used for the Ashmore and Cartier Islands<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-02 |title=The symbols of other territories of Australia |url=https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/australian-symbols-booklet/state-and-territory-symbols/symbols-other-territories-australia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241010201659/https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/australian-symbols-booklet/state-and-territory-symbols/symbols-other-territories-australia |archive-date=10 Oct 2024 |publisher=[[Australian Government]] |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=www.pmc.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>
| map_image          = Ashmore_and_Cartier_Islands_in_its_region.svg
| map_caption        = Location of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands
| location           = Indian Ocean
| coordinates        = {{Coord|12|15|30|S|123|02|30|E|type:waterbody_region:AU|display=title}}
| total_islands      =
| major_islands      = 4
| area_km2           =
| population         = 0
| population_as_of   = July 2021
| country            = Australia
}}
[[File:Coral reefs of the Kimberley region in Australia threatened by climate change (Copernicus).jpg|alt=Satellite image of Ashmore reef on 26 August 2021.|thumb|Satellite image of Ashmore reef on 26 August 2021.]]
The '''Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands'''<ref name="Agency2010">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Ashmore and Cartier Islands}}</ref> is an uninhabited Australian [[States and territories of Australia#External territories|external territory]]<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/alrc-80-legal-risk-international-transactions/10-external-territories?print | title=Legal Risk in International Transactions (ALRC Report 80) | year=2006 | isbn=0642254877 | chapter=10: External territories | publisher=Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), Australian Government | access-date=2014-04-14 | archive-date=16 April 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416210445/http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/alrc-80-legal-risk-international-transactions/10-external-territories?print | url-status=dead }}</ref> consisting of four low-lying tropical islands in two separate [[reef]]s (Ashmore and Cartier), as well as the {{convert|12|nmi|adj=on}} [[Territorial waters#Territorial sea|territorial sea]] generated by the islands.<ref name=DIRD/> The territory is located in the Indian Ocean situated on the edge of the [[continental shelf]], about {{convert|320|km|0|abbr=on}} off the northwest coast of Australia and {{convert|144|km|0|abbr=on}} south of the Indonesian island of [[Rote Island|Rote]].<ref name=DIRD>{{cite web | url=http://www.regional.gov.au/territories/ashmore_cartier/index.aspx | access-date=2014-04-14 | date=2014-01-29 | work=Territories of Australia | publisher=Department of the Infrastructure and Regional Development, Australian Government | title=Ashmore and Cartier Islands }}</ref>
Ashmore Reef is called ''Pulau Pasir'' by Indonesians and ''Nusa Solokaek'' in the [[Rotenese language]]. Both names have the meaning "sand island".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rspas.anu.edu.au/people/personal/foxxj_rspas/Fishermen_MOU_BOX.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827142957/http://rspas.anu.edu.au/people/personal/foxxj_rspas/Fishermen_MOU_BOX.pdf |archive-date=2006-08-27 |title=A STUDY OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES FACING TRADITIONAL INDONESIAN FISHERS WHO ACCESS THE MOU BOX}}</ref>
==Geography==
[[File:AshmoreandCartierIslands.png|thumb|left|A map of Ashmore and Cartier Islands]]
The territory comprises Ashmore Reef, which includes West, Middle and [[East Island (Ashmore and Cartier Islands)|East Islands]], in addition to two lagoons, as well as Cartier Reef, which includes [[Cartier Islands|Cartier Island]]. Ashmore Reef covers approximately {{convert|583|km2|1|abbr=on}} and Cartier Reef {{convert|167|km2|0|abbr=on}}, both measurements extending to the limits of the reefs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Australia |first1=Geoscience |title=Ashmore and Cariter Islands |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/remote-offshore-territories/ashmore-and-cartier-islands |website=Australian Government Geoscience Australia |date=15 May 2014 |publisher=Australian Government |access-date=21 February 2019}}</ref>
West, Middle and East Islands have a combined land area variously reported as {{convert|54|ha}},<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Carter |first1=Mike|last2=Clarke |first2=Rohan |last3=Pierce |first3=Frank |last4=Dooley |first4=Sean |last5=Swann |first5=George |last6=Grant|first6=Murray|title=Lesser Coucal 'Centropus bengalensis' on Ashmore Reef: First Record for Australia|issn=1448-0107|journal=Australian Field Ornithology|volume=27|issue=3|year=2010|quote=Within the reef are three small islands: West, Middle and east Islands (total land area 54 ha). The largest and most heavily vegetated is West Island... }}</ref> {{convert|93|ha}}<ref name="Europa2004"/> and {{convert|112|ha}}.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Australian Government | title=Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve and Cartier Island Marine Reserve | work=Marine Protected Areas | url=http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mpa/ashmore/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709123527/http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mpa/ashmore/ | archive-date=2011-07-09 }}</ref> Cartier Island has a reported land area of {{convert|0.4|ha}}.<ref name="Europa2004">{{cite book|author=Taylor & Francis Group|title=The Europa World Year Book 2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wGA4o-UhAfgC&pg=PA611|edition=45th|year=2004|publisher=Europa Publications, Taylor & Francis Group|isbn=978-1-85743-254-1|page=611}}</ref>
==History==
According to Australian literature,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sajjacob.blogspot.com/2015/02/pulau-pasir-ashmore-reef-belongs-to.html |title=Pulau Pasir (Ashmore Reef) belongs to Indonesia |access-date=2019-08-13}}</ref> Cartier Island was visited by Captain Nash in 1800, and named after his ship ''Cartier''. Ashmore Island was seen by Captain Samuel Ashmore in 1811 from his ship Hibernia and named after him. Ashmore Island was annexed by the United Kingdom in 1878, as was Cartier Island in 1909.<ref name="lus19">{{cite web|url=https://passengers.history.sa.gov.au/node/927739
| title=Hibernia | date=21 January 2016 }}</ref> In December 1905, {{HMS|Cambrian|1893|6}} formally took possession of the Ashmore Islands on behalf of the United Kingdom. The ship's commander Captain [[Ernest Gaunt]] went ashore accompanied by five officers and around 200 seamen, erecting the [[Union Jack]] on a flagpole and singing "[[God Save the King]]", while ''Cambrian'' returned a [[21-gun salute]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237703644|title=Hoisting the British Flag|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=Sydney|date=25 December 1905}}</ref>
After their annexation, the British Government occasionally granted licences on the islands for fishing or [[guano]] extraction.<ref name=sun>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230201237|title=Our charge: history of new islands|newspaper=The Sun|location=Sydney|date=30 November 1933}}</ref> In the 1920s, the islands were used as a base for poachers targeting the [[Pearling in Western Australia|Western Australian pearling industry]]. The lack of effective policing led to Australian lobbying for a transfer of control.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223207423|title=Our new islands|newspaper=The Weekly Times|date=9 December 1933}}</ref>
A British [[order-in-council]] dated 23 July 1931 stated that Ashmore and Cartier Islands would be placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia when Australia passed legislation to accept them, and formal administration began two years later.<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Ashmore and Cartier Islands|access-date=2021-03-29|year=2021}}</ref> The Commonwealth's resulting ''Ashmore and Cartier Islands Acceptance Act 1933'' came into operation on 10 May 1934, when the islands formally became a territory. The act authorised the [[Governor of Western Australia]] to make ordinances for the territory. In July 1938 the territory was annexed to the [[Northern Territory]], then also administered by the Commonwealth, whose laws, ordinances and regulations applied to the Northern Territory. When [[self-government]] was granted to the Northern Territory [[Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978|on 1 July 1978]], administration of Ashmore and Cartier Islands was retained by the Commonwealth.<ref name=DIRD/><ref name=YrBk1981>{{cite book | last=Statistics | first=A.B. | title=Year Book Australia No. 67, 1983 | publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics | year=1997 | isbn=978-99946-0-289-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MVc4-noHRpIC&pg=PA2 | page=2}}</ref>
In 1947, interior minister [[Herbert Johnson (Australian politician)|Herbert Johnson]] became the first Australian government minister to visit the territory. ''[[The Age]]'' reported that Johnson had been unable to land due to rough seas and regarded the islands as "almost valueless".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/206045360|title=Islands are Worthless: Minister Tells of Visit|newspaper=The Age|date=15 August 1947}}</ref>
In 1983, the territory was declared a nature reserve under the ''National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975'',<ref name=DIRD/> now replaced by the ''[[Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999]]''.<ref>''[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/epabca1999588/ Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999]''</ref> Cartier Island, which was a former bombing range, became a marine reserve in 2000.
After the islands became a first point of contact with the [[Australian migration zone]], in September 2001, the Australian Government excised the Ashmore and Cartier Islands from the Australian migration zone.<ref name=DIRD/>
===Indonesian heritage and memorandum===
Ashmore has been regularly visited and fished by Indonesian fishermen since the early eighteenth century. A 1974 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Australia and Indonesia sets out arrangements by which traditional fishers can access resources in Australia's territorial sea in the region. This allows traditional Indonesian fishermen to access parts of Ashmore for shelter, freshwater and to visit grave sites. The area, known as the [[MOU Box]], contains the Ashmore and Cartier Islands Territory.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/69f1fee5-5dfb-4da8-93ac-99f2eb9ea65c/files/visitors-information-brochureashmore-cartier.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/69f1fee5-5dfb-4da8-93ac-99f2eb9ea65c/files/visitors-information-brochureashmore-cartier.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island Commonwealth Marine Reserves: Information for visitors |access-date=17 August 2018 |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia 2014}}</ref>
==Governance==
Today, the territory is administered from [[Canberra]] by the [[Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts]], which is also responsible for the administration of the territories of [[Christmas Island]], [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]], the [[Coral Sea Islands]], [[Jervis Bay Territory]] and [[Norfolk Island]].<ref name="AussieAG">{{cite web| author =  Assistant Director, Territories and Disaster Reconstruction Division | title = Territories of Australia | url = http://www.regional.gov.au/territories | publisher= Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport | date= 16 June 2012 | access-date = 7 February 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110211125655/http://www.regional.gov.au/territories/| archive-date=11 February 2011| url-status= live}}</ref>
The [[Attorney-General's Department (Australia)|Attorney-General's Department]] had been responsible for the administration of Australian territories until the [[2010 Australian federal election|2010 federal election]]. In that year the responsibility for Australian territories was transferred to the then [[Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport]],<ref name=DIRD/> and from 18 September 2013 the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development has administered Australian territories.
Defence of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is the responsibility of Australia, with periodic visits by the [[Royal Australian Navy]], [[Royal Australian Air Force]] and the [[Australian Border Force|Australia Border Force]].
Nearby Hibernia Reef, {{convert|42|km|0|abbr=on}} northeast of Ashmore Reef, is not part of the Territory, but belongs to [[Western Australia]].<ref>{{Cite web|page=Administrative Divisions of Countries|url=http://www.statoids.com/uau.html |title=States of Australia|access-date=2011-06-23}}</ref> It has no permanently dry land area, although large parts of the reef become exposed during low tide.
===Proposed Northern Territory annexation===
The [[Northern Territory]] government has claimed on multiple occasions (1989, 1996) that the Ashmore and Cartier Islands should be returned to their jurisdiction, instead of remaining a separate territory.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Long Road to Statehood: Report of the inquiry into the federal implications of statehood for the Northern Territory House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/284014 | date=May 2007 | access-date=22 May 2023 | page=17 |hdl=10070/284014 |ref={{sfnref|The Long Road to Statehood|2007}} }}</ref> The [[Australian House of Representatives]] Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs recommended in a 1991 report that the Northern Territory annex the islands.{{sfn|The Long Road to Statehood|2007|p=96}} In 1998, [[John Howard]]'s [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]] debated the issue in the leadup to the [[1998 Northern Territory referendum|1998 Northern Territory statehood referendum]], and stated in a campaign release that it would "pursue incorporation of the Ashmore & Cartier Islands into the Northern Territory before or at the time of Statehood".<ref name="Garrick 2020">{{cite web | last=Garrick | first=Matt | title=Ghan land acquisition contingency had green light from Howard government, documents show – ABC News | website=ABC | date=January 1, 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-02/ghan-plans-revealed-in-john-howard-government-documents/11810508 | access-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref><ref name="ASPI 2018">{{cite web | title=Coalition Foreign Affairs Statement: Our Indian Ocean Territories | website=ASPI | date=July 26, 2018 | url=http://www.aspi.org.au/aspi-election-policy-library/2007/2007-coalition | access-date=May 22, 2023}} Website incorrectly filed the statement under 2007, but the statement itself says it was released 30 September 1998.</ref> However, these efforts did not lead to any changes.
==Environment and protection==
{{See also|Birds of Ashmore Reef|Flora of Ashmore and Cartier Islands}}
[[File:Cartier Island.png|thumb|right|Cartier Island and surrounding reef ([[NASA]] satellite image)]]
The [[Ashmore Reef Marine Park]] and [[Cartier Island Marine Park]] are both classed as strict nature reserves (IUCN Ia) and protect biodiverse areas of significant and international importance, as well as cultural heritage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parksaustralia.gov.au/marine/management/resources/scientific-publications/ashmore-reef-and-cartier-island-reserves/ | title=Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island Reserves |access-date=2021-04-15|website=parksaustralia.gov.au}}</ref>
Cartier Island is an unvegetated [[sand island]],<ref name="Europa2004"/> with access prohibited because of the risk of [[unexploded ordnance]]s. There are no ports or harbours, only offshore anchorage.  Today, all the [[water well|well]]s in the Territory are infected with [[cholera]] or contaminated and [[potable water|undrinkable]].<ref>{{cite news
|title=Bizarre Happenings at Reef
|newspaper=Navy News
|publisher=[[Royal Australian Navy]]
|url=http://www.defence.gov.au/news/NAVYNEWS/editions/1999/06_28_99/story03.htm
|date=28 June 1999
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527052059/http://www.defence.gov.au/news/NAVYNEWS/editions/1999/06_28_99/story03.htm
|archive-date=27 May 2013
|access-date=27 August 2018
}}</ref> The [[Australian Border Force]] vessel {{ship|ABFC|Thaiyak||}} is stationed off the reef for up to 300 days per year.<ref name="FactSheet">{{cite web|url=http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/FS_AshmoreGuardian.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/FS_AshmoreGuardian.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Australian Customs Vessel ''Ashmore Guardian''|publisher=Australian Customs and Border Protection Service}}</ref> The islands are also visited by seasonal caretakers and occasional scientific researchers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ashmore Reef marine park {{!}} Australian Marine Parks Science Atlas |url=https://atlas.parksaustralia.gov.au/amps?featureId=AMP_NW_AR#research |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=atlas.parksaustralia.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>
==Economy==
The area around the Ashmore and Cartier Islands has been a traditional fishing ground of Indonesian fishermen for centuries, and continues. In the 1850s, American whalers operated in the region.<ref name=DIRD/> Outside of fishing, the islands were historically used as sources of [[guano]], [[beche-de-mer]], [[trochus]] and [[tortoiseshell]].<ref name=sun/> Mining of phosphate deposits took place on Ashmore Island in the latter half of the 19th century.<ref name=DIRD/>
Petroleum extraction activities take place at the [[Jabiru oil field|Jabiru]] and [[Challis oil field]]s, which are adjacent to the Territory, and which are administered by the Northern Territory's Department of Mines and Energy on behalf of the Commonwealth.<ref name=DIRD/>
==Migration==
As Ashmore Reef is the closest point of Australian territory to Indonesia, it was a popular target for [[people smuggling|people smugglers]] transporting [[asylum seekers]] en route to Australia.<ref>Anita Roberts [https://web.archive.org/web/20080830045428/http://www.insideindonesia.org/edit66/anita4.htm "Don't let them drown"] ''Inside Indonesia'' Apr–Jun 2001, vol. 64</ref> Once they had landed on Ashmore Island, asylum seekers could claim to have entered Australian migration zone and request to be processed as refugees. The use of Ashmore Island for this purpose created great notoriety during late 2001, when refugee arrivals became a major political issue in Australia. The Australian Government argued that as Australia was not the country of first asylum for these "[[boat people]]", Australia did not have a responsibility to accept them.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
A number of things were done to discourage the use of the Territory for this purpose, such as attempting to have the people smugglers arrested in Indonesia; the so-called [[Pacific Solution]] of processing them in third countries; the boarding and forced turnaround of the boats by Australian military forces; and finally excising the Territory and many other small islands from the [[Australian migration zone]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Migration Amendment (Excision from Migration Zone) Act 2001 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2004A00887 |website=Federal Register of Legislation}}</ref>
In October 2001, the [[Royal Australian Navy]] detained two Indonesian boats carrying asylum seekers for seven days in the Ashmore Island lagoon. These boats were later returned to Indonesian waters through the use of force and deception.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=December 2002 |title=“BY INVITATION ONLY:”AUSTRALIAN ASYLUM POLICY |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/australia/australia1202.pdf |journal=Human Rights Watch |volume=14 |issue=10 |pages=41}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|Australia|Geography|Islands|Oceania}}
* [[Immigration detention in Australia]]
* [[SIEV 36]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Ashmore and Cartier Islands}}
{{Commons category|Ashmore and Cartier Islands}}
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ashmore-and-cartier-islands/ Ashmore and Cartier Islands]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050306222710/http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/dimensions/externalterr/ashmore.htm Geoscience Australia—Ashmore and Cartier Islands]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050416130424/http://www.deh.gov.au/coasts/mpa/ashmore/ Department of the Environment and Heritage—Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve]
* [http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/marine/marine-reserves/north-west/cartier Department of the Environment and Heritage—Cartier Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve]
* [http://islands.unep.ch/IJA.htm First on list of Australian islands]
* "Ashmore Reef Belongs to Indonesia," posted on East Timor Action Network. [http://www.etan.org/et2003/january/05-11/06ashmorn.htm]
* "Ashmore Islands are member of ARABOSAI" [https://web.archive.org/web/20090809150200/http://www.arabosai.org/en/members.asp]
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[[Category:Ashmore and Cartier Islands| ]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Australia]]
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[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Indian Ocean islands|Ashmore Reef]]