CANBERRA - The Australian government and defense experts have backed a 99-year lease of Darwin's port to a Chinese-owned company.

Earlier this week, the Northern Territory (NT) government signed a $370 million deal with the Landbridge Group for the long-term lease of the Port of Darwin.

The Australian government, according to a spokesperson on Thursday, said it had already signed an agreement in anticipation of the deal which permits it to access the site for the first 15 years of the lease.

Adam Giles, Chief Minister of the NT government, said he had consulted all the relevant stakeholders before proceeding with the multi-million dollar deal.