Mr Abbott insisted on Thursday that his government was already “working very well together” with Indonesia, and that “we absolutely respect Indonesia's sovereignty”. Asylum seeker talks made public ... Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop met with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Dr Marty Natalegawa, in New York earlier this week. Credit:Trevor Collens But the former Coalition foreign minister Alexander Downer is pressing Mr Abbott to take a tougher line. He said it was Australia’s sovereignty that was threatened by asylum seeker vessels, that Indonesia bore a “heavy responsibility” for their arrival, and that the Indonesians were employing “pious rhetoric” on the issue. The minutes of the New York meeting reveal once again the Australian government’s strong preference for keeping the issue of towing boats back to Indonesia out of the public eye. Ms Bishop is quoted as saying: “Australia is ready to fully cooperate with the Indonesian government in dealing with this issue ‘behind the scenes’ and ‘quietly’ to avoid publicity that could have a negative impact on Australia's efforts”.

She explained to Mr Natalegawa that the “failure of the previous government” had prompted Mr Abbott’s regional deterrence policy, which would stop asylum seekers coming to Australia but “also to prevent Australia's neighbouring countries becoming transit countries”. Blunt message ... Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa warned the Australian Government against 'unilateral action' over asylum seekers. Credit:Andrew Meares The Australian Foreign Minister asked for Indonesia’s support in stopping Indonesian-flagged fishing boats being used to transport asylum seekers. Indonesia, she added, would be the "cornerstone of Australia's foreign policy”, and Australia would “continue to prioritise Indonesia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. The minutes reveal that Mr Natalegawa responded by underlining the importance of multilateral forums, saying he “suggested” that the “steps that will be taken by Australia be put under the Bali Process”.

“It’s feared that unilateral steps by Australia may constitute a risk to the close cooperation and trust that has been built within the Bali Process framework and therefore they should be avoided,” Mr Natalegawa said. Australia is ready to fully cooperate with the Indonesian Government in dealing with this issue ‘behind the scenes’ and ‘quietly’ to avoid publicity that could have a negative impact on Australia's efforts He said a multilateral approach would prevent “a shocking effect to the system that has been built so far”. He also suggested that the two countries start from scratch in formulating new asylum seeker policies, saying they should perform a “stocktake” of areas of common interest and then develop a “blueprint or road-map” for ways forward. Connecting any policies to existing multilateral solutions would “make these policies more publicly acceptable,” he said.

The Indonesian foreign ministry and the Ambassador to Australia have both since issued statements saying the meeting transcript was not intended to be issued or reported as a press release, because the meeting was private. The Indonesian government "stands ready to work with each Australian government and all its political stakeholders to ensure that the best interests of both are people are fulfilled". Acting opposition leader Chris Bowen said the Indonesia government has made its position ''crystal clear'' that they regard the Abbott government's plans as ''an affront''. ''Asian diplomacy in particular is marked by understatement... this is what makes it such an extraordinary development,'' Mr Bowen told ABC TV on Thursday night. ''It's an unprecedented step by an Indonesian foreign minister, I can't recall an Indonesian foreign minister taking a step like this in relation to Australia ever before.'' Mr Bowen said the boat turn back policy was not an ''irritant'' for Indonesia but a ''clear matter of principle''.

Indonesia has consistently emphasised a multilateral approach through the Bali process, which was set up by Mr Yudhoyono and John Howard, and is jointly chaired by the two countries. Mr Abbott said before the election he would repair the relationship with Indonesia he said had been “trashed” by Labor. He is hoping that the focus of his Monday meeting with Dr Yudhoyono will be on trade and economic ties. Loading Earlier this week, Ms Bishop said the meeting with Mr Natalegawa had been "very cordial", "positive and very productive". with AAP