Vietnamese community leaders fear a group of suspected asylum seekers found in Queensland are part of a potential flood of people fleeing human rights abuses and state seizure of their land in Vietnam.

Key points: Asylum seekers are trying to escape growing oppression in Vietnam, critics say

Asylum seekers are trying to escape growing oppression in Vietnam, critics say New laws have allowed for key areas of land to be seized and leased to China

New laws have allowed for key areas of land to be seized and leased to China Human Rights Watch fears asylum seekers sent back to Vietnam will face persecution

Most of the 17 Vietnamese have been taken to Christmas Island for processing by immigration authorities and are eventually expected to be deported back to Vietnam, after their fishing boat washed ashore in Far North Queensland on Sunday.

It is not yet clear where in Vietnam the group is from and whether, or why, they are seeking asylum.

But community leaders in Australia said Vietnam's worsening record on human rights, and the loss of sovereign land to China, was driving an exodus of Vietnamese to countries including Australia.

Bon Nguyen, president of the Vietnamese Community in Australia, said hundreds of Vietnamese had escaped to Thailand and Indonesia in recent years, and several boats had been turned back by Australia.

The group's boat was discovered in waters off Cape Kimberley on Sunday. ( Supplied: Port Douglas Marine Rescue )

He predicted the number would rise significantly as Vietnamese authorities became increasingly oppressive towards their citizens.

In the past year, thousands of Vietnamese have taken to the streets to protest against Hanoi's decision to hand large areas of land to Chinese interests.

Sorry, this video has expired People protest in Hanoi against Chinese leasing land (Photo: Reuters)

A bill currently before Vietnam's National Assembly would also allow the government to seize key areas of land in Vietnam's north, centre and south, and lease them to China for 99 years.

"There has been an infringement of sovereignty by the Chinese government on Vietnam," Mr Nguyen said.

"Vietnamese people see this as a danger, and they have stood up to demand the Vietnamese government take action to protect their land and seas.

"But instead of protecting the Vietnamese national interest, they go back and appease China and they take a very draconian approach, torturing with brutal force Vietnamese citizens who took their protests onto the streets."

Mr Nguyen said China's incursion into Vietnamese fishing grounds was another factor encroaching on people's livelihoods and forcing them to flee, particularly as China increased its presence in the South China Sea.

Sorry, this video has expired Remaining suspected asylum seekers found

He acknowledged the loss of land or income was as much economic as political, but said many Vietnamese fleeing the country had also suffered an abuse of their rights.

"This is not the first time that land in Vietnam has been surrendered to the Chinese government. They have created locations where it's exclusively for Chinese workers to be there," he said.

"Vietnamese people are not allowed to enter those locations, and for the Vietnamese that is an insult."

"You no longer have the freedom … you feel that you're living in your own country but you're not allowed to enter certain areas that belong to you."

Problems not just economic: Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Vietnam's human rights record remained dire in all areas, with restrictions on free speech, persecution of religious minorities and increasingly punitive measures against anyone who challenged the government.

The group said activists faced intimidation, physical assault and imprisonment if they tried to speak out, and farmers continued to lose land to development projects without proper compensation.

Land is being seized from farmers in Vietnam without compensation, critics say. ( Flickr: Dennis Jarvis )

HRW's deputy Asia director, Phil Robertson, said Australia would be wrong to assume the latest group of Vietnamese asylum seekers were driven only by economics.

"Australia wants to lump everyone into the category of economic refugees. In reality the Vietnamese economy is booming, it's one of the fastest-growing economies in South-East Asia," he said.

"If everything was hunky dory at home, you would presume these people would stay there.

"In fact there are a lot of dislocations, people taken off their land, and people who try to do something for their community by speaking out [who] face retaliation. It's a one-party state, a dictatorship.

"And if you get in their way and contravene some senior official who has his own interest, it is very easy to end up in a situation where you're being persecuted and need to flee."

Debris from the suspected people smuggling boat was found washed up on the beach. ( ABC News: Kristy Sexton-McGrath )

Fears asylum seekers will face persecution

HRW has urged Australia to follow proper processes to determine whether the Vietnamese detainees on Christmas Island were genuine refugees or not.

The 17 suspected asylum seekers have been taken to Christmas Island for processing. ( AAP: Lloyd Jones )

The organisation has criticised a 2015 decision to process another boatload of Vietnamese while they were still at sea.

That group was deported but later faced persecution or imprisonment in Vietnam, and four of them fled Vietnam a second time before being granted refugee status by UN authorities in Indonesia.

"The Australian government maintained that there was refugee status determination [carried out] that met international standards. We have our doubts about that," Mr Robertson said.

"They were sent back with a pledge from Vietnam to Australia that they would not be prosecuted for this.

"Vietnam promptly broke that pledge, and Australia just walked away from trying to enforce that promise."

HRW has also called on Australia to grant the UN High Commissioner for Refugees access to the Vietnamese group on Christmas Island.

"We are very concerned that people who are sent back to Vietnam after such an episode as this will face persecution, and we constantly argue for more transparency, more clarity on what Australia is doing with these people," Mr Robertson said.

The Federal Government has blamed people smugglers for the latest boat's arrival on mainland Australia.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said on Tuesday those on board had arrived "illegally" and would be deported at the first available opportunity.

The Queensland Government is investigating how the boat made it into Australian waters.

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