CANBERRA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday refused to consider transferring 78 Tamil asylum seekers on board the Oceanic Viking to Christmas Island, insisting they were being "properly processed" in Indonesia.

    Rudd said everything was proceeding as planned and he would not discuss the possibility of the Tamils eventually being sent to Christmas Island.

    "These individuals are being properly processed in using the IOM (International Organization for Migration) and the UNHCR officials who are currently in Indonesia," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio.

    "That is how it's going to continue into the future until these matters are properly dealt with."

    Rudd said there was "legitimate and understandable debate" concerning the Oceanic Viking and denied the stand-off proved the government's so-called Indonesian solution was a failure.

    The Australian customs vessel has been anchored off the Indonesian island of Bintan for 11 days, and the Indonesian government said there is "a limit" to how long it can remain there.

    "We will apply whatever is necessary in terms of patience and application to work our way through each of these challenges as they arise and we will continue to do so in the future," Rudd said.