TONY Abbott is on his way to Jakarta and is seeking closer ties amid a warning from Indonesia's president-elect about Australia's navy entering its waters while turning back asylum seeker boats.
LABOR says that's not a good start.
Mr Abbott left for Jakarta on Sunday to attend Joko Widodo's presidential inauguration on Monday, his fourth trip to Australia's "hugely important neighbour" since becoming prime minister last year.
He wants Australia's foreign policy to have more of a Jakarta focus rather than a Geneva one, he said before he left.
Mr Joko has outlined plans to strengthen ties, including boosting military and intelligence links.
But he's also warned he will be strong on issues of sovereignty.
He further raised concerns about Australia's asylum seeker policies and warned against Australian naval vessels venturing into Indonesian waters without permission as they did inadvertently on several occasions last year.
Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek says Mr Joko's comments about Australia's policy of turning boats back to Indonesia were quite telling.
"It is not a good start," she told the ABC on Sunday.
"It is obviously, as we have said all along,
it is a very big deal for Indonesia that the (Australian) government is making announcements about what's happening on Indonesian waters and soil without talking to (that) government."http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/foreign-policy-should-focus-...