CHRISTMAS ISLAND, Australia (Reuters) - Hundreds of mostly Afghan asylum seekers headed for Papua New Guinea on an Australian navy ship on Tuesday after a nine-day standoff as a court sat to decide their final destination.But while the fate of the 433 unwanted boat people remained uncertain, Australian Prime Minister John Howard was reaping voter support for his tough stance not to accept the asylum seekers in the face of intense international criticism.
``I didn't do this for poll reasons. I did it because I think it was right,'' Howard told local radio, reacting to opinion polls which showed his popularity had risen during the asylum ship crisis only months away from an election.
The boat people were stranded at sea for more than a week after the Norwegian freighter Tampa rescued them from a sinking Indonesian ferry on August 26 and took them to Australia's remote Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
Australia refused to let them land and accept them and on Monday the asylum seekers were offloaded onto the navy troop carrier HMAS Manoora, which sailed for Papua New Guinea early on Tuesday. (Read photo caption below)
Australia plans to fly the asylum seekers from Papua New Guinea to New Zealand and the tiny South Pacific island of Nauru, which have offered to take them while their refugee claims are assessed. New Zealand will take 150 and Nauru 283.
But a court in Melbourne may yet order Australia to take the asylum seekers if civil liberties lawyers win their case in the Federal Court, where they have claimed Australia acted unlawfully in refusing to accept the boat people.
Australian government lawyers are arguing that the asylum seekers arrived on Australia's doorstep illegally by ''hijacking'' the Tampa by threatening to jump overboard if it did not sail to Christmas Island.
Australia says Indonesia should have taken the boat people because they were rescued in its search and rescue area.
Federal Court judge Tony North has said he hoped to make his ruling before the Manoora reached the Papua New Guinean capital of Port Moresby in six to 10 days. The court is expected to adjourn later on Tuesday with a ruling later in the week.
But even if Australia wins, any of the boat people found to be legitimate refugees could apply to return to Australia.
INDONESIANS CHARGED
Australia charged four Indonesians on Tuesday with people smuggling. The Indonesians were charged on Christmas Island with trying to sail the 433 asylum seekers from Indonesia to Australia on board the ferry KM Palapa, which sank in the Indian Ocean.
``Bail was formally refused by the officer in charge of Christmas Island police,'' Australian Federal Police said.
The Indonesians will appear in court on Christmas Island on Tuesday and will then be flown to the western Australian city of Perth for a court appearance on September 11.The Indonesians, aged between 17 and 31, face a maximum jail sentence of 20 years if convicted. Under Australia's tough people smuggling laws introduced in 1999, people smugglers also face fines of up to 116,000.
More than 300 people have been jailed in Australia for people smuggling since the laws were introduced.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Crew members of the ill-fated Indonesian smuggling vessel that floundered carrying over 450 asylum-seeking refugees towards Australia, are shown here being led from a police van after being brought ashore off the Norwegian freighter Tampa late September 3, 2001. The refugees, rescued by the Tampa and held onboard for days as immigration authorities wrestled over where to let them land, are now enroute to Papua New Guinea on an Australian military vessel. (Jason Reed/Reuters