Aust and Indonesia hail bilateral ties Indonesian and Australian ministers have held talks on counter-terrorism and people smuggling. AUSTRALIA has offered to sell Indonesia five C130 Hercules aircraft at a "bargain" price as both countries hail the strength of diplomatic relations following high-level discussions in Jakarta. The so-called 2+2 dialogue, involving defence and foreign ministers from both countries, focused on military co-operation, but also dealt with regional and global issues, including counter-terrorism, people smuggling and disaster relief. Speaking after the talks, Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the frequency of meetings between both countries - including 125 ministerial visits since 2008 - reflected the "strategic importance and the fondness" in relations. "Our defence relationship and practical co-operation has never been stronger, has never been better," he said. Australia last year gave Indonesia four C-130 Hercules ex-airforce aircraft, worth an estimated $30 million, to be used in maritime emergencies and disaster relief. Mr Smith confirmed on Wednesday another five had been made available for sale to Indonesia, adding they would be offered "at mate's rates, or in other words bargain basement prices." Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the bilateral relationship was crucial to Australia. "We deeply value the opportunity for these 2+2 exchanges," he said. There's no country in the region more important to Australia than Indonesia. But in a statement issued to local media on Wednesday, the Indonesian Defence Ministry made it clear the perception in Jakarta was that Australia's chief interest in boosting bilateral relations revolved around concerns over asylum-seeker traffic. "The main reason for Australia to consider Indonesia as an important partner was because of illegal immigrants," according to the statement which was given to reporters about an hour before the ministers fronted a media conference. As the ministers were meeting behind closed doors, authorities in Australia revealed three more asylum-seeker boats, carrying 168 people, had been intercepted on Tuesday. More than 1000 asylum seekers have arrived in Australia in the past 10 days. But Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa hailed the relationship between Jakarta and Canberra, as he moved to play down the statement issue by the Defence Ministry. "No, well it's a comprehensive relationship between Indonesia and Australia," he said when asked about the statement. I think it would not be advantageous to only view our relations from that prism. Mr Natalegawa added that the 2+2 dialogue reflected "the broad nature of Indonesia-Australia relations." The defence ministers will meet again in Perth later this year.