Australia and India together on Indo-Pacific security
Australia and India have pledged to deepen defense cooperation in a more unstable environment across the Pacific.
Defense Minister Richard Marles welcomed his Indian counterpart Shri Rajnath Singh to Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday.
It was the first visit by an Indian defense minister to Australia in 12 years and the pair’s second meeting in 2025 after Mr Marles left for New Delhi in June.
The ministers participated in a traditional Indigenous smoking ceremony before signing a bilateral defense agreement and a memorandum of understanding on submarine rescue support and cooperation to increase dialogue between the two militaries.
It is also expanding its air-to-air refueling training, after Mr Singh gave a live performance on Thursday courtesy of the Royal Australian Air Force.
Australian and Indian troops have stepped up military cooperation, more than tripling their annual defense exercises, meetings and activities over the past decade.
The two countries are trying to formalize cooperation in the field of maritime awareness.
Australian and Indian defense experts also met at Parliament House on Thursday.
“As guardians of both sides of the mighty Indian Ocean, we recognize our responsibility to keep this region stable and trade lines open,” Deputy Defense Secretary Peter Khalil told the meeting.
This includes strengthening its defense industrial base, he said, as India has “made impressive progress” in ramping up production and Australia wants to do the same.
Defense Secretary Greg Moriarty said the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific has increased over the next five years as China continues to strengthen its military.
“We see that the People’s Liberation Army continues to expand its military capacity, reach and operational tempo,” he told the Senate hearing.
“As the PLA operates in more remote areas, we expect the Australian Defense Force to engage in close contact more frequently, including in waters close to Australia.
“In this environment, dialogue with China is vital to register our concerns and manage our differences.”
Australian Defense Force chief David Johnston traveled to Beijing in June to speak with his counterpart.
India will host the Quad leaders meeting, which will be attended by Australia, Japan, the USA and itself, but no date has been announced.
Although not a military alliance, the Quad was established to balance China’s growing influence and capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.
But relations between New Delhi and Washington soured over the purchase of Russian oil, with US President Donald Trump increasing tariffs on India, accusing India of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine.
India faced backlash as it continued to purchase Russian oil, which was then added to refineries, making it difficult for third countries with sanctions against Russia to block imports of this oil.
