"Indonesia also receives thousands of boat people … we have to manage this inflow and at the same time, if we are the only ones solving this issue, it will not be fair," he said.

They were the strongest comments yet from the Indonesian President on the subject, and they appear to be aimed at the Australian Opposition Leader, who has said if it wins the coming election the Coalition would have a Jakarta, not Geneva, focus, and that his relationship with the Indonesians meant they would accept his turn-back-the-boats policy.

But Indonesians at many levels have made it clear they dislike his approach because it seeks to push the problem back in their direction.

Dr Yudhoyono proposed in the meeting to call a conference of "all parties" in the region, who he said must be jointly responsible for the increasing flow of asylum seekers and the power of people smugglers. The conference - which Mr Rudd endorsed - should be held by the end of this month. It would involve countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Myanmar, where many refugees come from, countries such as Indonesia that they pass through and Australia, their destination.

In his first press conference as Prime Minister last week, Mr Rudd received fierce criticism from the opposition when he said Mr Abbott's policy risked ''conflict'' with Indonesia.