PRIME Minister Tony Abbott told Indonesian Security Affairs Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno he was not picking a fight yesterday as he responded to Jakarta’s planned execution of two Australian citizens.

In an uncharacteristic display of diplomacy, Mr Abbott said he understood that Indonesian officials wanted to crack down on drug crime in the country.

Mr Purdijatno had told Canberra on Tuesday to tone down criticism of his country, saying that it should be grateful to Indonesia for keeping asylum-seekers away from Australian shores.

If about 10,000 migrants who had been stopped in Indonesia were allowed to proceed, “there will be a human tsunami in Australia,” he warned.

Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran face the firing squad for drug trafficking along with eight others.

“But these two individuals, because they’re reformed, have now become an asset in Indonesia’s fight against drug crime and that’s why I think it would be counterproductive to execute them,” Mr Abbott pleaded.

The 10 were flown last week from Bali to the Nusakambangan Island prison where executions are carried out.

Firing squads will execute them simultaneously in pairs, so the execution date will not be set until all have exhausted their legal appeals.

Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran were arrested in 2005 after a tip-off from Australian police while trying to smuggle heroin from Bali to Sydney. 

Australian Islamic grand mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohamed met Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin yesterday to plead “with respect and humility for mercy for the lives” of the men.