SBS reports locals saying the boat arrived within 200 metres of Flying Fish Cove in the early hours of Friday morning.

It would be the first time such a boat has made it that close since January 2013.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Panjaitan told The Jakarta Post newspaper that asylum seekers stuck in Indonesia posed “security concerns related to potential terrorism”.

Mr Panjaitan, who visited Australia earlier this week, said discussions were “preliminary”.

“A delegation of Australian officials is slated to be in Jakarta in late December to further discuss the issue,” he said

The offer was accompanied by a demand to end the policy of towing back asylum seeker boats, the newspaper reported.

“I told them such actions are wrong and against humanitarian principles,” the minister was quoted as saying.

“They are still unsure of how to respond, but they are hoping relations between the two countries will be in at an all time high (sic).” Immigration Minister Peter Dutton visited Jakarta this week, but wouldn’t say whether he’d discussed boat turnbacks with his counterparts, revealing only that talks had focused on the economy and security.