India, Australia to Bolster ‘Operational Engagement’ Amid ‘Strategic Challenges’ in Asia-Pacific

The Australian Defense Minister said that New Delhi and Canberra “must begin to work more together” with other countries in the Indian and Pacific Oceans as ties between the governments strengthen. The two countries, which are part of US-led ‘Quad’, elevated their bilateral ties to the level of ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ in 2020.

New Delhi and Canberra have agreed to further strengthen “operational engagement” by coordinating their military forces, as the two governments reviewed the “strategic challenges” in the Asia-Pacific region during Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles' ongoing visit to India.

Marles is on his first visit to South Asia since taking charge as the new Defense Minister last month.

According to a joint statement issued after Marles met his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, the two countries' military forces would build upon the “operational engagements through the India-Australia Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement”.

The pact, signed during a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Australian leader Scott Morrison in June 2020, allows both the forces reciprocal access to each other’s bases for logistical support.

Both the Defense Ministers also “committed to give a fillip” to defense research and cooperation under the banner “India-Australia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Defense Research and Materiel Cooperation”, which will convene in Australia this year.

“Both sides agreed to explore means to grow connections and opportunities between Indian and Australian defense industrial bases,” said the statement.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Singh described Australia as a “proven and a trusted partner of India”.

“India and Australia share democratic values, having common visions for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Singh remarked.

In a speech delivered at the National Defense College in New Delhi after his consultations with Singh, Marles proposed the idea of having "trilateral" ventures between the two governments as well as countries such as Indonesia.

He added that there was a need for more partnerships like AUKUS in the Indian Ocean region. Under the trilateral AUKUS pact, the US and UK have committed to supply Canberra with technology necessary to build advanced nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs).

Beijing has slammed the AUKUS pact for "inciting" a nuclear arms race in the region.

Marles, however, described AUKUS as a "technology partnernship" rather than an "alliance" or a "mutual defense pact".

Marles Meets Indian Foreign Minister

Marles also held bilateral consultations with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar after his arrival in New Delhi from the Western coastal state of Goa on Tuesday evening.

Marles flew to Delhi in a P-8 spy aircraft, a highly symbolic gesture, given both the Indian Navy and the Australian Defense Forces (ADF) employ the aircraft to carry out maritime surveillance operations around their nations.

Jaishankar said that both the countries realize the importance of “strengthening security cooperation” in order to face “contemporary global challenges”.

He also remarked that “growing security cooperation” between the two nations has been a “key facet” of bilateral ties.

Marles’ visit to India comes as the new Australian government tries to calibrate its regional security strategy.

At a speech he delivered at the ‘Shangri-La Dialogue’ in Singapore on June 11, Marles stated that “China’s military build-up is now the largest and most ambitious we have seen by any country since the end of the Second World War.”

“It is critical that China’s neighbors do not see this build-up as a risk for them,” he stated at the global security event, as he noted the ongoing border tensions between the Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the eastern Ladakh region.

Before his India visit, Marles paid an official visit to Japan where both the nations agreed to “elevate defense cooperation” in order to work towards a “free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient,” as per a joint statement.

Marles also participated in trilateral talks with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo on the sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue.

A ‘Joint Vision’ statement after the event “strongly” objected to Beijing’s “unlawful maritime claims” in the South China Sea, a reference to the ongoing maritime disputes with China's south-east Asian and eastern neighbors, including Vietnam, Philippines and Japan.