Indonesia has arrested 43 Afghan nationals who were trying to reach Australia illegally. Provincial maritime police chief Anang Hidayat today said the migrants, including women and children, were arrested in the waters off Madura island in East Java province this morning. He said the asylum seekers were arrested while they were transferring boats and they had no identification documents. The police chief said the group had flown from Afghanistan to Jakarta, travelled by bus to Madura island to take a big boat to Australia. Indonesia is a key staging post for people-smugglers bringing Afghans, Sri Lankans and other nationals for the perilous onward sea journey to Australia where many seek asylum. Ministers from around the Asia-Pacific region signed a non-binding framework agreement yesterday to tackle smuggling networks.