‘Shared objective’: India, Aus reaffirm defence and strategic cooperation
NEW DELHI: Australia’s new government reiterated its commitment to the strategic partnership with India by agreeing on Wednesday to work jointly on the shared objective of a free and open IndoPacific and to boost cooperation between the defence industries of the two sides.
Visiting Australian deputy prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles met his defence minister Rajnath Singh and reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation, which both sides said has increased despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and also discussed ways to enhance collaboration.
Marles is the first senior member of the new Australian government to visit India. Ahead of his arrival in the country on Monday, he described India as “one of Australia’s closest security partners”.
His visit, less than a month after the formation of the new government in Canberra, reflects the importance attached by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to ties with India.
The defence ministers discussed opportunities for industrial cooperation between the two countries to “increase the resilience of supply chains and deliver capabilities to their respective defence forces”, according to a joint press statement. They agreed to explore ways to “grow connections and opportunities between Indian and Australian defence industrial bases”.
Singh and Marles committed to giving a fillip to a bilateral joint working group (JWG) on defence research and material cooperation, which will meet in Australia later this year. The JWG was described as a crucial mechanism for boosting ties between their defence industries.
The ministers reviewed strategic challenges and the regional security situation and reaffirmed their “shared objective of an open, free, inclusive, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific”.
Singh tweeted, saying: “Our close partnership is an important factor of stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
Marles described his talks with Singh as an “excellent first meeting” that was instrumental in advancing defence ties.