Ahead of his visit to New Delhi, Australian defence minister Richard Marles said that he is eager to meet with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh. Marles’ visit to India will begin on June 20.
“I am looking forward to meeting with my counterpart, defence minister Rajnath Singh, and holding our first bilateral defence ministers’ meeting,” Marles said.
Discussions related to national security and defence policymakers and personnel will be held with Union minister of external affairs S Jaishankar.
The Australian deputy prime minister’s visit to New Delhi comes after his visit to Tokyo where he discussed with Japanese counterpart Nobuo Kishi China’s growing acts of aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
“A deeper bilateral relationship with India is critically important for our country, and developing the defence and security side of that is a huge priority,” Marles was quoted as saying by the Australian Financial Review.
Whether this means that Australian defence manufacturers will sign joint ventures with Indian firms to boost domestic production of defence equipment remains to be seen.
Canberra wants to bring India in the inner circle of Australia’s strategic partnerships within 2035 and the Albanese-led government is following the footsteps of its predecessor in prioritizing its relations with New Delhi.
Both nations participate in the tri-service staff-level military dialogues and are signatories of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
They also perform war drills under the AUSINDEX, an exercise which ensures mutual interoperability along with the Malabar exercise.
Canberra and New Delhi ties are warm after both nations signed the Australia–India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in April allowing Indian businesses greater and duty-free access to Australian markets.
Marles also said that there is huge scope for both nations to gain in the field of military.
“There is huge scope for us to do more with India and I will be keen to explore with the Indian government what can be done,” Marles told the Australian Financial Review.
Albanese’s visit to the Quad Leadership Summit and Marles’ attendance at the Shangri-La Security Dialogue indicates that the Australian government is keen to develop strong relations with allies and are concentrating on strengthening their foreign policy due to China’s actions.
Penny Wong, Australian foreign minister, was also sent to the Pacific Islands on a duelling tour as Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi was in the region in an effort to make the nation-island sign a sweeping security deal with Beijing.
(with inputs from The Australian Financial Review and ANI)
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