| Columbia Encyclopedia: Ashmore and Cartier Islands |
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| Background: | These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983, it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, became a marine reserve in 2000. |

| Location: | Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, midway between northwestern Australia and Timor island |
| Geographic coordinates: | 12 14 S, 123 05 E |
| Map references: | Southeast Asia |
| Area: | total: 5 sq km land: 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island |
| Area - comparative: | about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
| Land boundaries: | 0 km |
| Coastline: | 74.1 km |
| Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate: | tropical |
| Terrain: | low with sand and coral |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 3 m |
| Natural resources: | fish |
| Land use: | arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand) (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 0 sq km |
| Natural hazards: | surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards |
| Environment - current issues: | illegal killing of protected wildlife by traditional Indonesian fisherman, as well as fishing by non-traditional Indonesian vessels, are ongoing problems |
| Geography - note: | Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983; Cartier Island Marine Reserve established in 2000 |
| Population: | no indigenous inhabitants note: Indonesian fishermen are allowed access to the lagoon and fresh water at Ashmore Reef's West Island; access to East and Middle Islands is by permit only |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands |
| Dependency status: | territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department |
| Legal system: | the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia and the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (territory of Australia) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | none (territory of Australia) |
| Flag description: | the flag of Australia is used |
| Economy - overview: | no economic activity |
| Ports and terminals: | none; offshore anchorage only |
| Military - note: | defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force |
| Disputes - international: | as the closest Australian territory to Indonesia, these islands became the target of human traffickers for the landing of illegal immigrants; in 2001, the Australian government removed these islands from the Australian Migration Zone making illegal arrivals ineligible for temporary visas and entry into Australia |
| Wikipedia: Ashmore and Cartier Islands |
The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands are two groups of small low-lying uninhabited tropical islands in the Indian Ocean situated on the edge of the continental shelf north-west of Australia and south of the Indonesian island of Roti at 12°14′S 123°5′E / 12.233°S 123.083°E[citation needed].
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The territory includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island (70 km east) with, a total area of 199.45 km² within the reefs and including the lagoons, and 114,400 m² of dry land. While they have a total of 74.1 km of shoreline, measured along the outer edge of the reef, there are no ports or harbors, only offshore anchorage. Nearby Hibernia Reef, 42 km Northeast of Ashmore Reef, is not part of the territory, but belongs to Western Australia [1]. It has no permanently dry land area, although large parts of the reef become exposed during low tide.
There is an automatic weather station on West Islet.
The territory is administered from Canberra by the Attorney-General's Department[2] (before 29 November 2007[3] administration was carried out by the Department of Transport and Regional Services). The FIPS-10 date code is AT; the territory is bundled along with Australia in ISO 3166. Defence is the responsibility of Australia, with periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force. The islands are visited by seasonal caretakers.
Ashmore Reef is called Pulau Pasir by Indonesians, and considered part of Rote Ndao Regency of East Nusa Tenggara province.[4] In the Rote Island language, it is called Nusa Solokaek. Both names have the meaning Sand Island.[5]
The Ashmore Reef Marine National Nature Reserve was established in August 1983. It is of significant biodiversity value as it is in the flow of the Indonesian throughflow current from the Pacific Ocean through the Indonesian Archipelago to the Indian Ocean. It is also in a surface current west from the Arafura Sea and Timor Sea. There are 14 distinct species of sea snake in the area, more than in any other area. There is also an unusually high level of species diversity of coral, mollusks, and fish. A memorandum of understanding between the Australian and Indonesian governments allows Indonesian fishermen access to their traditional fishing grounds within the region, subject to limits.
Cartier Island Marine Reserve includes the entire sand cay of Cartier Island, the reef surrounding it, the ocean for a 7.2 km radius around the island, and 1000 m below the seafloor. It was proclaimed in 2000.
There is no economic activity in the Territory. As Ashmore Reef is the closest point of Australian territory to Indonesia, it was a popular target for people smugglers transporting asylum seekers to Australia.[6] Once they had landed on Ashmore, asylum seekers could claim to have entered Australian territory and request to be processed as refugees. The use of Ashmore for this purpose created great notoriety during late 2001, when refugee arrivals became a major political issue in Australia. As Australia was not the country of first asylum for these "boat people", the Australian Government did not consider it had a responsibility to accept them.
A number of things were done to discourage the practice 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 Ashmore and many other small islands from the Australian migration zone. Two boatloads of asylum seekers were each detained for several days in the lagoon at Ashmore after failed attempts by the Royal Australian Navy to turn them back to Indonesia in October 2001.
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