Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s trip to the Indonesian capital Jakarta has been cancelled as the fallout over the AUKUS defence pact continues.
Mr Morrison planned to stop at Indonesia on his way back from Washington next week.
But the Indonesian government said President Joko Widodo was unavailable due to scheduled trips to provinces outside the capital.
Mr Widodo has previously expressed alarm over Australia’s plan to arm itself with a nuclear submarine fleet, saying he’s "deeply concerned over the continuing arms race and power projection in the region".
It is understood the prime minister spoke with his Indonesian counterpart about the development by phone this week.
He also reached out to the prime ministers of Singapore, Japan and India.
However, government officials do not believe the cancellation of the trip is linked to Indonesia’s unease over the plan.