China sparks Australia-Indonesia defense agreement

At the signing ceremony, Indonesia’s new president, Prabowo Subianto, met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said ahead of his trip to Jakarta that the package represents a turning point in the relationship.

“This agreement reflects the determination of both countries to work closely in safeguarding national security and to make a tangible contribution to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Albanese said.

Tensions and a return to alliance

Last year, Albanese said that the agreement largely builds on a treaty signed 30 years ago by Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating and Indonesian leader Suharto, which Jakarta later canceled after East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. The agreement also draws on a treaty between the two countries signed in Lombok in 2006.

Over the years, relations between Indonesia and Australia have shifted: from high tensions during the Cold War and after Suharto’s fall to relatively warmer relations in recent years.

Jakarta has long sought to balance its foreign policy, maintaining friendly ties with both Western countries and other developing nations.

According to a Canberra official, the agreement signals that Indonesia is just as important to Australia’s security as the US.

Sam Roggeveen, director of the security program at the Lowy Institute, said that Indonesia’s interests and China’s ambitions in Southeast Asia will continue to grow stronger. He also noted that the two countries already have a border dispute in the South China Sea.

“As China’s maritime power grows and as its ambitions grow in Southeast Asia, then I think Indonesia increasingly faces a choice of either accommodating China or resisting those ambitions. This deal with Australia would help it bolster its defense capabilities,” Roggeveen emphasized.

Australia seeks to contain China

Bloomberg reports that since coming to power in 2022, Australia’s center-left government has signed a series of defense, policing, and aid agreements in the Pacific region, aiming to strengthen its influence and limit China’s reach.

These efforts intensified under President Donald Trump’s administration, as the US relies on allies to shoulder a significant part of the burden of containing Beijing’s growing military power.

At the end of 2025, Australia signed a security agreement with Papua New Guinea, located north of Australia and east of Indonesia.

Additionally, at the end of January, Prime Minister Albanese visited East Timor and signed an agreement to provide various forms of aid and support.