T

he government said Thursday it would demand a time line of how long the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers, on board an Australian vessel in Riau province, would stay in Indonesia once their statuses have been finalized.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said Indonesia could not afford to let the boat people, who wish to go to Australia, stay in its territory for an indefinite period of time, as has been the case in the past.

"What would we do to them if they are not classified as refugees? And what would we do if they are? This has to be clear."

Indonesia is struggling to cope with the rising number of illegal immigrants intercepted in its waters while making the perilous journey to its more prosperous southern neighbor.

The 78 Sri Lankans are only one group of people currently seeking asylum in Australia.

Another 255 Sri Lankans are refusing to get off a wooden boat at Merak Port, Banten, and their status remains unclear.

Reports in Australia have cited 66 incidents of interception in Indonesian waters this year, resulting in arrests of 1,642 illegal immigrants bound for Australia.

Many have become stateless, living in immigration detention facilities or shelters run by the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar who were found adrift off the coast of Aceh early this year were granted refugee status by the UNHCR, but have not yet been sent to any third countries willing to accept them. Dozens have reportedly escaped from their facilities.

The government has agreed to process the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers despite protests from local authorities and residents in Riau.

Speaking to ABC news on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said: "We have done our level best in terms of trying to facilitate our humanitarian concern and interests of these people, but in the final analysis, if they refuse to leave the boat then this is a fact the Australian government must take into account."

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has not ruled out the possibility of using force to remove the Sri Lankans from the country's customs ship. The prime minister has come under pressure because of the debacle, with his opponents harshly criticizing his "Indonesian solution" to the asylum problem.

Reuters quoted Marty as saying Thursday that Indonesia was "not trying to shy away from our responsibilities, but that they has to be a shared".

Indonesia is not party to the UN's 1951 Refugee Convention, but officials say the country has sought to facilitate asylum seekers out of humanitarian concerns.