As the only country in the world that completely occupies the entire continent, Australia has vast territory, including the Australian mainland, Tasmania Island, and surrounding islands, with a total area of approximately 7.692 million square kilometers.
Australia is surrounded by the sea on all sides, with the Tasman Sea and Coral Sea in the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Indian Ocean and its marginal seas to the west, north, and south. The coastline is approximately 36735 kilometers long.
Due to Australia being an isolated island with no land neighbors, other countries can only attack Australia through the ocean.
This also explains why Australia was not discovered by the outside world for a long time in history, and it was not until 1770 that British navigator Cook arrived on the east coast of Australia and declared this vast land British.
For Australia, the ocean is its natural barrier, giving this continental country the advantage of being an island nation.
In addition, Australia is located in the southern hemisphere, far from important parts of the world. To the west is the vast Indian Ocean, while to the east is a large number of Pacific island countries, which are far less powerful than Australia.
And the south is Antarctica, with only the north having a great power.
This great country is Indonesia, located in the southern part of Southeast Asia, very close to Australia.
Indonesia is an archipelagic country consisting of 17508 islands, with a total area of approximately 1.9135 million square kilometers and a population of approximately 276 million, equivalent to ten times the population of Australia.
This reality has always made Australia very vigilant, especially with the development of Indonesia, the disputes between the two countries are gradually increasing.
But Australia has a strategic location that constrains Indonesia, which makes Indonesia very uncomfortable.
Firstly, with the strengthening of Indonesia's strength, friction with Australia is also increasing.
Indonesia has many islands, widely distributed, with a coastline of approximately 54716 kilometers and an ocean area of 3166000 square kilometers.
Indonesia spans across the equator, with most of its territory located in the southern hemisphere and the majority of its population distributed in the southern hemisphere, while Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere.
Therefore, for Australia, Indonesia poses a strategic threat, especially as its population and economy continue to grow, its overall national strength is also becoming stronger.
Currently, Indonesia is not only a populous country, but also an industrial and agricultural powerhouse.
In terms of agriculture, Indonesia has vast arable land that is suitable for the growth of crops such as rice, wheat, rubber, and sugarcane.
In addition, Indonesia has abundant fishery resources, with an annual catch of up to 8 million tons.
In terms of industry, Indonesia is a major steel and mining country with abundant oil and gas resources, although most of them are distributed in the ocean.
With the strengthening of Indonesia's military power, these situations have further intensified Australia's vigilance towards Indonesia.
Secondly, Australia has strategic locations.
The most important one is Christmas Island, located in the northwest of Australia, although it only covers an area of 135 square kilometers and has a population of about 2000.
But it is only 340 kilometers away from Java Island in Indonesia and 500 kilometers away from the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
Java Island is the largest island in Indonesia and also the heart of Indonesia, with most of its population, industry, and economy concentrated here.
Australia has a port and airport on Christmas Island, allowing fighter jets to take off from the island and quickly reach Java, Indonesia, and even over Jakarta.
This undoubtedly worries Indonesia a lot, but for Australia, Christmas Island is an important strategic location to restrict Indonesia.
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