Indonesia navy may boost asylum-seeker patrols

Indonesia may boost naval patrols in the Sunda Strait as part of a collaborative effort with Australia to stem the flow of asylum seekers to Christmas Island.

High-level talks in Jakarta on Monday between Foreign Minister Bob Carr and his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa also dealt with plans to enhance cooperation in search and rescue efforts involving asylum-seeker boats in distress.

Speaking after talks with Dr Natalegawa, Senator Carr welcomed comments from a high-ranking Indonesian navy officer who said earlier in the day that patrols in the Sunda Strait were crucial to disrupting people-smuggling operations.

The strait, between Java and Sumatra, has become the main thoroughfare for boats dispatched by people smugglers, and was the route used by the string of vessels that have prompted rescue operations in recent wee

"The Indonesian navy is (already) having coordinated patrols with the Australian navy," Admiral Untung Suropati told AAP on Monday.

"Co-ordinated patrols in Sunda Strait, I think, (are) very crucial in handling people smuggling."

Senator Carr said broader maritime cooperation was welcome.

"But we can't dump this problem on Indonesia," he said.

He also ramped up his attack on Opposition Leader Tony's Abbott's plan to send asylum-seeker boats back to Indonesia.

"Tony Abbott is badly mistaken and naive if he thinks he can suddenly wave a magic wand and say the relationship is now a thousand times more robust and in that context I can start sending boats back," Senator Carr said.

Last week he warned that a coalition victory at the next election would create a diplomatic disaster in relations between Australia and Indonesia.

Dr Natalegawa also appeared to voice opposition to the coalition strategy, saying the response to the asylum-seeker problem should be one that was "mutually compatible".

"The perpetrators behind people smuggling, they find the conditions in Indonesia conducive to continue their operations," he said.

"But we are doing our level best at the national level, working together with Australia and other friendly countries to disrupt in a serious way their operations."

Tubagus Hasanudin, a member of the Indonesian parliamentary committee which oversees defence and foreign affairs, also rejected the coalition "turning back boats" strategy, saying people smuggling would be best dealt with on a multilateral level.

"I just want to say that Indonesia should not be blamed on this issue," he told AAP.

"People smuggling has been the issue for ASEAN and Australia and there should be a common humane solution."

Senator Carr met with the committee before the talks with Dr Natalegawa. He is the first Australian foreign minister to do so.

"As Australian leaders have said, no relationship matters more to us than the one we have with Indonesia," he said later.

He also spoke about the "sense of anticipation" in Australia about the implications of growth in the Indonesian economy, which he said was expected to double over the next decade.

"I think it will really multiply the links we've got," he said.

Dr Natalegawa said it was "practically impossible" for him to exaggerate the importance Jakarta attached to relations with Australia.

The foreign ministers' meeting comes after discussions just two weeks ago in Australia between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Source :  SMH.au