Indonesia seeks expanded joint military exercises with China

Indonesia's expansion of military exercises with China and agreement to technology transfer represents a strategic tilt in Southeast Asia's most critical state away from Western alignment and toward deeper Chinese military integration. This directly erodes the geographic buffer Australia relies on; Indonesia's archipelago is critical to freedom of navigation, and growing Sino-Indonesian military ties increase the risk of Chinese military presence or accommodation of PLA operations in waters Australia depends on for trade and energy security.