Sending asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia is the "ordinary course of business" as most of the vessels originate in the South East Asian nation anyway, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

Mr Abbott said seven asylum seeker vessels were towed back to Indonesia under the Howard government between 2001 and 2002, and the policy could work again as as deterrence measure.

He conceded that towing back vessels could be difficult, and under certain circumstances "might even be dangerous".

"But letting the boats come is pretty dangerous too ... very very dangerous to boat people," he told Sky News on Sunday.

When asked whether he would push ahead with this policy against the wishes of Indonesia, Mr Abbott said most of the asylum vessels were crewed by Indonesians and based out of ports there.

"What happens outside of Indonesia's waters is really, in a sense, something that the Indonesians are not directly involved in," he said.

"If a boat gets turned around outside of Indonesia's waters, and then turns up again at the Indonesian port from which it had come, that surely is just simply a matter of course."

Mr Abbott said the Indonesians were keen to see Australia make a greater effort to deter people smuggling, and expressed a desire to strengthen ties with the South East Asian nation.