Tony Abbott says he was simply pointing out the depth of the friendship between Australia and Indonesia when he linked foreign aid to the fate of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.
Pleading for the two men to be spared from execution, the prime minister on Wednesday reminded Indonesia it received $1 billion in Australian aid after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
But the comments sparked a sharp rebuke from the Indonesian government, whose spokesman said "threats are not part of diplomatic language".
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mr Abbott would not say if his comments were intended as a threat.
They were a reminder of the depth and strength of the bilateral relationship between the two countries, he said.
"I was pointing out the depth of the friendship between Australia and Indonesia, and the fact that Australia has been there for Indonesia when Indonesia has been in difficulty," he told reporters in Tasmania.
In raising Australia's tsunami aid, Mr Abbott had asked Indonesia to "reciprocate" by granting clemency for the two Bali nine ringleaders.
On Thursday, he said it was in Indonesia's best interests and best values not to execute the two Australians.
"We know a terrible crime has been committed ... keep these people in jail for a very long time indeed, but don't kill them," Mr Abbott said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten would not say whether Mr Abbott's comments were appropriate, but added Australians needed to speak with one voice and not "lecture Indonesia" over the fate of the two men.
Australians wouldn't have seen the tsunami assistance as conditional, he said.
"I don't believe any Australian ... thought anything other than we should help in what is the greatest natural disaster in living memory," Mr Shorten said.
Chan and Sukumaran's lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said almost every country in the world had provided assistance to Indonesia's tsunami victims, so Australia was not unique.
"And they deserve that," Dr Lubis told reporters in Perth.
"I feel a little bit upset with the statement.
"Indonesians probably don't feel this (commentary) is right.
"It is not right to relate the tsunami assistance to the fight against the execution."
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