By Vivek Prakash

TANJUNG PINANG, Indonesia - Seventy eight Sri Lankan asylum seekers rescued by an Australian customs vessel in Indonesian waters are to be taken to a detention centre on the Indonesian island of Bintan, an official said on Monday.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, seeking to curb a growing number of asylum seekers, has sought help from Jakarta and other neighbours over the politically sensitive issue.

The boat people, who were temporarily moored at a port in Banten, west of Jakarta, were taken to waters near Indonesia's Riau islands close to Singapore, where there is a detention centre on Bintan.

I Gde Widiartha, head of the Riau Justice and Human rights office, said by telephone the boat people would be taken to a navy base before being transferred to the Tanjung Pinang immigration detention centre on the island.

Indonesia's navy recently intercepted another boat carrying 260 Sri Lankans off the Java coast after Rudd spoke directly with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the issue.

The two leaders held talks last week about a pact to combat people trafficking, including more aid for Jakarta in return for interception in Indonesia of Australia-bound asylum boats.

Asylum policy is a hot-button electoral issue in Australia where recent opinion polls show Australians want a tougher policy.

Rudd defended on Monday the government's regional approach to dealing with asylum seekers. "If detention and processing in Indonesia help prevent some of these perilous journeys then we must support such a policy," Rudd told parliament.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said that he was aware of accusations in Australian media reports that some detainees or asylum seekers in Tanjung Pinang had been badly treated.

"I welcome very much the fact that Indonesian police have indicated they are investigating those matters," he added.

(Additional reporting by Telly Nathalia and Olivia Rondonuwu in Jakarta and James Grubel in Canberra; Writing by Ed Davies)