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Australia, Indonesia finalise new defence treaty: ‘our neighbour will help us’

Prime Minister Albanese, who met President Subianto in Sydney, described the pact as the ‘best way to secure peace’ in the region

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hold a press briefing at a naval base in Sydney on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Agence France-Presse
Australia and Indonesia agreed on Wednesday to sign a new security treaty, which includes closer military cooperation, the two countries’ leaders said following talks in Sydney.

Canberra has drawn ever nearer to long-time ally Washington, bolstering its military in an attempt to deter the might of a rising China in the Asia-Pacific region.

Jakarta has walked a more neutral path, wary of drawing too close to Washington and far less willing to needle Beijing.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking alongside President Prabowo Subianto at a Royal Australian Navy base in Sydney, said they had “just substantively concluded negotiations on a new bilateral treaty on our common security”.

“This treaty is a recognition from both our nations that the best way to secure … peace and stability is by acting together,” Albanese told reporters.

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The Australian leader said he hoped to visit Indonesia next year to sign the new treaty.

He said the agreement builds on a bilateral defence pact signed in 2024, which pledged closer cooperation in the contested Asia-Pacific region and included provisions for each military operating in the other country.

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