India, Australia agree to bolster ties to partnership

Deal may allow two nations to access each other’s bases, ports

MUMBAI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison signed a crucial defense agreement and upgraded ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as both nations navigate fraught relations with China.

The agreement, confirmed by Morrison in his opening remarks of a virtual summit between the leaders yesterday, may allow the two nations to access each other’s bases and ports and strengthen their defense ties. The Mutual Logistics Support pact is similar to an agreement India signed with the US in 2016.

“The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that we are forming today (yesterday), going to a whole new level in the relationship, will continue to build the trust, because we want commercial and trading relationships that are built on trust,” Morrison said.

Both countries “share a view that many of the future challenges are likely to occur in, and emanate from, the maritime domain,” according to a joint statement released after the meeting.

The agreements on cyber, science and infrastructure signed yesterday would help deepen trade, Morrison said. The two countries will also continue their meetings between foreign and defense ministers to strengthen ties. Australia’s merchandise trade with India for the year ended June 2019 was A$21.1bil (Us$14.6bil), according to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“The trade and investment flows between our countries are not where you and I would both like them to be, but they are growing,” Morrison said.

Modi noted it was the “sacred responsibility” of India and Australia to uphold the global values of democracy, rule of law and respect of international institutions. “In this time of a global pandemic this partnership will play and important role.”

Australia is seeking to bolster ties in the Indo-pacific region where it’s feeling squeezed between its support of traditional ally the US and its need to placate Beijing, its largest trading partner. India is looking to establish itself as a regional manufacturing hub and attract companies seeking to move their supply chains out of China.

Both now are having prickly relations with Beijing. India’s troops have been engaged in a weeks-long face-off with Chinese soldiers at the nations’ Himalayan borders.

Australia, the world’s most Chinadependent developed economy, has raised Beijing’s ire by calling for an investigation into the origins of the pandemic, a sensitive topic for President Xi Jinping’s government which has faced criticism for its managing of the initial stages of the outbreak in Wuhan. China barred meat imports from four Australian slaughterhouses for “technical” reasons, and slapped tariffs of more than 80% on Australian barley in May after a long-running inquiry.

A “new cold war” between the US and China also formed the backdrop of the virtual meeting. Worsening relations between the two countries since 2017 has jeopardised world trade. And rising global anger toward China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic is further complicating global ties and economic recovery.

While Morrison has good relations with US President Donald Trump, he will be aware that the leader’s “America First” rhetoric jeopardises traditional alliances. Australia is also watching for signs that the Us-china trade deal could hit its own exports to China. — Bloomberg

“The trade and investment flows between our countries are not where you and I would both like them to be, but they are growing.” Scott Morrison