Indonesia, Australia tackle boat issue

Australia and Indonesia agreed to work together closely to stem the flow of
boatpeople arriving in Australian waters when the countries' leaders spoke by phone
on Sunday.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed
the recent influx of boatpeople was due to conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan and
Sri Lanka and the global financial crisis.
"They discussed the increasing number of asylum seekers travelling from source
countries to Indonesia and Australia," a spokesperson for Mr Rudd said in a
statement.
"Each took the view that push factors were the main cause for the increase.
"These factors include conflict in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and economic
factors including the global recession."
The PM's spokesperson said the leaders agreed on the "timeliness" of last week's
Bali conference on people smuggling "and the reminder it gave of the value of
affected nations working closely together".
"President Yudhoyono told the prime minister that, given the current situation, he
was ready to bring the already good cooperation between Australian and Indonesian
authorities even closer," Mr Rudd's spokesperson said.
A boat carrying asylum seekers believed to be from Afghanistan exploded on Thursday,
killing at least five people and wounding dozens more.
It was the sixth boat of asylum seekers intercepted by authorities in Australian
waters this year.