"It is an extension of geography within which we would like to know the nature of ships that intend to either transit Australian waters or intend to land in Australian ports," Hill told reporters in Jakarta.

"My understanding is that this is not in breach of any international law and Australia obviously is committed and intends to comply with all international law obligations," he said after meeting his Indonesian counterpart Juwono Sudarsono.

Although Canberra has not detailed any additional naval presence in the designated zone, Sudarsono said Indonesia would dispatch its own vessels to ward off any intruding Australian ships.

"We will deploy our naval force to counter this should this happen in our waters," he said.

Under the plan announced by Prime Minister John Howard on Wednesday, all ships travelling to Australia will be required to provide details of their journey and cargo if they enter the 1,000 nautical mile (1,800 kilometre) zone.

Vessels coming within a 200 nautical mile limit of the Australian coast will also be required to give extra details on cargo, ports visited, location, course, speed and intended port of arrival.

The move is similar to steps taken by the United States to raise standards of maritime security amid fears of extremist attacks on ships. Washington has called on its allies to introduce similar measures.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda on Wednesday criticised the move as a breach of Jakarta's maritime jurisdiction.

But Hill played down the criticism and said the proposal was aimed at improving security for Australian offshore oil rigs and assets.

"We are committed to cooperation with our neighbours to achieve better security outcomes," he said.

The world's largest archipelagic country, Indonesia has in the past expressed concerns about Canberra's plans to acquire long-range cruise missiles that Australia says will give it the "most lethal capacity" for air combat.

Indonesia and Australia have had prickly relations but ties improved after the two countries' police forces worked together to investigate the October 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians.

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.