Arafura Sea

[ahr-uh-foor-uh, ahr-uh-]

noun

1. a part of the Pacific Ocean between northern Australia and southwestern New Guinea.

Arafura Sea

/ ˌærəˈfʊərə /

noun

1. a part of the W Pacific Ocean, between N Australia and SW New Guinea

Word History and Origins

Origin of Arafura Sea¹

First recorded in 1830–40; possibly a self-designation of the Harrafora people who live in the Moluccas

Example Sentences

In February, Australia accused a Chinese navy ship of shining a military grade laser towards one of its warplanes over the Arafura Sea off northern Australia.

Read more on BBC

The Chinese vessel was sailing in the Arafura Sea off northern Australia when the incident happened on Thursday.

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The Chinese vessel was sailing east with another PLA-N ship through the Arafura Sea at the time of the incident, the department said.

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In recent years, an Indonesian government crackdown on illegal fishing in the Arafura Sea has seen a drop in the number of ghost nets hitting the beach.

Read more on The Guardian

The onshore scheme calls for pipelines and new facilities to be built on one of several islands in the Arafura Sea.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal