The federal coalition's controversial plan to turn asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia has suffered another blow, with the country's top diplomat labelling it "impossible".
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa says origin, transit and destination countries need to work collaboratively to prevent and disrupt people smuggling.
"It would be impossible, and not advisable even, to simply shift the nature of the challenge from any of the continuum to the other," Dr Natalegawa told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
"So that's where we are coming from in terms of approach and I think that provides a hint ... of how we feel about policies that simply pass the nature of the problem to different faces of that chain."
Dr Natalegawa is the latest in a long line of Indonesian and Australian officials to raise objections to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's turnback policy.
But Mr Abbott is persisting with the policy of turning boats around "where it is safe to do so", arguing that it was done under the Howard government so it can be done again.
He also wants to reopen the immigration detention centre on Nauru and resurrect Temporary Protection Visas.
Dr Natalegawa was in Canberra for the first so-called two-plus-two meeting of Indonesian and Australian foreign and defence ministers.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the meeting was the highlight of his first week in the portfolio.
"What happens in Indonesia and how Indonesia sees the world is hugely important for Australia," he said.
"If we fail to get this relationship right and nurture and develop it, the whole web of our foreign relations is incomplete."
Dr Natalegawa, Senator Carr and defence ministers Purnomo Yusgiantoro and Stephen Smith discussed a range of foreign policy and security issues.
Asked if Indonesia had any concerns about US plans to rotate marines through the Northern Territory, Mr Yusgiantoro said the Americans had satisfactorily explained the reasons for the decision.
"We don't have a problem at all with the placement of the United States Marines in Darwin," he said.
Dr Natalegawa revealed Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono plans to meet with Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Darwin in May for their annual talks.
Senator Carr concluded the press conference with a "modest symbol" of bilateral cooperation.
"Marty and I have exchanged mobile numbers," he said.
"His mobile number's now lodged in my telephone as is mine in his."
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