Indonesia warning over asylum boat turnbacks

Indonesia's foreign minister has warned Australia his country won't accept violations of its sovereign borders in relation to asylum seeker boat turnbacks.

Dr Marty Natalegawa has met with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop on the sidelines of United Nations meetings in New York.

"We have reiterated that Indonesia cannot accept any Australian policy that would, in nature, violate Indonesia's sovereignty," Dr Natalegawa told reporters in New York.

"I think the message has been conveyed loud and clear and has been understood well."

Ms Bishop said it had been a "very productive and positive meeting" in which she outlined the new government's plans to deal with asylum seekers, including turning back boats where it is safe to do so.

Dr Natalegawa said the Bali Process, a regional framework for dialogue on issues such as people smuggling, was the appropriate forum for working on policies to deal with asylum seekers.

"There are steps that we can take, but they should be orderly and respect the two countries' sovereignty," he said.

He said the issue would be high on the agenda next week when Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meet for bilateral talks in Jakarta.

Ms Bishop told reporters much work needed to be done to convince Indonesia of the merits of the Abbott government's approach to asylum seekers.

While she was confident of being able to implement the coalition's policies, there could be some "misunderstanding" of them.

"It is certainly not in any way to show disrespect for Indonesia's sovereignty," she said.

Ms Bishop said she had explained to Dr Natalegawa that Australia would be making changes to the law to "take away the product that the people smugglers are currently selling and that is permanent residency in Australia".

She denied there was any tension in relations with Indonesia: "Not at all. We spoke very warmly, we know each other well."