Did you paint a clear gloss coat on the area you are putting the decals, before trying to apply them? If you have't, the matt finish will not let the decals sit flush with the surface.
Decals don't like the granulated surface of matt finishes. Any good modelers I know of put a gloss finish on their models, before applying decals, so they adhere better. Then, an overall coat of matt clear reduces the gloss on both the model and the decal, also reducing the shine of the decal compared to the paint surface.
PS: I use something like this, to spot brush the area I want to decal:
And this page is confirmatuon on the finishing process:
Quick Tip: Using Matt Medium to Get Rid of Shiny Model Syndrome
PPS: Mask off canopies and any areas you want to keep shiny! Also, with 1/200 scale, you can probably get away with just a few light coats of matt, without using the 'matt medium' step, to get into the hard-to-reach places mentioned in the linked article. The ARES models aren't that big, nor will they be that closely examined.
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