SYDNEY: Australia returned four Sri Lankan asylum-seekers approaching the nation’s waters by boat, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Thursday, three weeks after the government secured a major legal victory for its tough immigration policy.

Customs officers intercepted the boat northwest of the remote atoll of Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean on Feb. 9, Dutton said in a statement.

“The government’s policies and resolve are stopping illegal boat arrivals and are restoring integrity to Australia’s borders and immigration program,” the minister said.

“Anyone attempting to enter Australia illegally by sea will never be resettled in this country.”

The four Sri Lankans, whose gender and identities were not released, were interviewed to see if they “engaged Australia’s non-refoulement obligations under international law” before they were transferred to Sri Lankan authorities on Feb. 10, he said.