Relations between the two Indo-Pacific neighbors have cooled somewhat after Canberra’s announcement last week that it would acquire nuclear-powered submarines from the US and United Kingdom as part of a new trilateral deal dubbed AUKUS.

“I spoke to President Widodo on the way over here. We had a very warm conversation. I was able to reassure him, particularly about the issues on non-proliferation and further explained the arrangements around AUKUS,” Morrison said at a press conference in New York upon his arrival, according to a transcript issued on Tuesday.

“All countries have to take decisions in their interests. All countries in the region understand that,” he added.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah confirmed that President Jokowi had taken a call with Morrison on Monday evening but did not say what was discussed.

Separately, presidential spokesman Fadjroel Rahman told The Jakarta Post that he was “not yet privy to the topics discussed, as it was a private conversation”.

Indonesian officials were informed of the launch of the AUKUS partnership at the last minute, even though Canberra had sent its foreign and defense ministers to Jakarta a week prior.

After the announcement, Australian officials said Morrison had sought to speak with foreign counterparts on the matter, including with Jokowi.

However, there was no indication that Jakarta was approached far in advance of Thursday’s announcement.

Analysts have noted that the AUKUS partnership could spur a more aggressive arms race with China, which has called the arrangement “irresponsible”.

They say a better-equipped and more responsive Australia would bode well for US interests in the South China Sea, with the US and its allies regularly conducting “freedom of navigation” operations that have upset China.

Beijing sees the operations as outside interference in waters it claims as its own, in conflict with other coastal states, including the Philippines and Vietnam, Reuters reported.

Read also: AUKUS pact puts Indonesia in tight spot

More engagement

Several countries have since come out strongly against Australia’s plan to arm itself further with the help of the US and the UK, while others have had a more measured response.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry reminded Canberra of its obligation to maintain peace and stability as a partner of ASEAN, saying it was “deeply concerned” about the arms race and projection of power in the region.

Meanwhile, the Philippines, an ally of the US, welcomed the establishment of AUKUS but stressed in a statement issued by Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin on Tuesday that “what is essential is Australia’s commitment to the primacy of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and ASEAN-led mechanisms”.

ASEAN is in talks on issuing its own response to AUKUS and Canberra’s planned acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.

Australia enjoys a generally good relationship with ASEAN, and the country is expected to meet at the leadership level for the first time later this year. However, experts have noted that the middle power has been known to take ASEAN’s position for granted and has, at times, tried to undermine or bypass ASEAN in its diplomatic initiatives.

Morrison said his government would continue to engage with ASEAN leaders on the matter.

“We have been able to establish a dialogue partnership with ASEAN for the first time, under our government. And that provides a good channel to further understand the steps that Australia necessarily has to take,” he said.

On Monday, Australia’s ambassador to ASEAN sought to allay fears over AUKUS and reiterated the country’s obligations under the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), which Canberra acceded to in 2005 as a requirement for establishing a formal dialogue partnership with ASEAN.

The TAC requires signatories to settle disputes by peaceful means and to renounce the threat or use of force in their engagements with one another. The US, China and the United Kingdom have also signed on.

Read also: Australia seeks to reassure ASEAN after AUKUS gambit

European dismay

ASEAN was not the only institution put on the edge by the announcement of AUKUS.

France is assessing all options in response to Australia's scrapping of a US$40 billion submarine contract, French European affairs minister Clement Beaune said on Tuesday, and has urged Britain to respect its post-Brexit commitments.

Beaune described relations with Australia now as "very difficult".

"We cannot act as if nothing happened. We need to look into all options," he told reporters before a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, Reuters reported.

European Union foreign ministers, meeting in New York, expressed solidarity with France.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told news broadcaster CNN that there were a lot of questions to be answered.

“One of our member states has been treated in a way that is not acceptable, so we need to know what happened and why,” she said.

Beaune welcomed the EU support, saying it was a European matter, not just a French problem, and that the bloc should be more assertive in defending its interests.

German Minister for Europe Michael Roth described the AUKUS pact as a wake-up call for the European Union and said it would not be simple to rebuild trust.

France has recalled its ambassadors from Canberra and Washington and has described Britain's role as "opportunistic".