Negotiations regarding the agreement have been ongoing for two years and the Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles describes it as successful and important for the security of both countries.
For Australia's part, the defense agreement is extra important since the relationship with China is frosty. In 2020, the Australian government, among other things, stopped the Chinese technology giant Huawei from getting a 5G contract in the country.
But Euan Graham, an analyst at the think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute, questions the agreement.
The problem is that Indonesia does not see the same threat from China as Australia, he says to the news agency AP.
Australia has entered into new defense agreements with, among others, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Japan in recent years. China opposes collaborations like these because they believe they are directed against them.
