8th India-Australia Defence Policy Talks | 28 Jul 2023

Source: PIB

Why in News?

The 8^th India-Australia Defence Policy Talks (DPT) was held at Canberra, Australia.

What are the Key Highlights of the Talks?

• Both India and Australia reviewed the bilateral defence cooperation and explored new initiatives to further strengthen bilateral defence engagements.
• Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership based on mutual trust and understanding, common interests and shared values.
• India highlighted the potential of the Indian defence industry with capacity and capability to cooperate with Australian Armed forces in its shipbuilding and maintenance plans.
• Both sides agreed for early finalization of hydrography agreement.

How have been the India- Australia Relations so far?

• Historical Perspective:
  • Australia and India for the first time established diplomatic relations in the pre-Independence period, when the Consulate General of India was first opened as a Trade Office in Sydney in 1941.
  • In 2014, Australia signed a Uranium supply deal with India, the first of its kind with a country that is a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, in recognition of India’s “impeccable” non-proliferation record.
• Strategic Ties:
  • In 2020, Prime ministers of both the countries elevated bilateral relationship from Strategic Partnership to Comprehensive strategic Partnershipduring India-Australia Leaders’ Virtual Summit.
  • In 2022, there were a series of high-level engagements and exchange of ministerial visits in 2022 and in 2023 including India-Australia virtual summit and Foreign Ministers meet. Several key announcements were made during 2nd India-Australia Virtual Summit including:
    • A Letter of Intent on Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement to foster the exchange of skills.
• Defence Cooperation:
  • The First India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue took place in September 2021 in New Delhi.
  • The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) was signed during the Virtual Summit in June 2020 to enhance defence cooperation.
• Joint military exercises:
  • Bilateral:
    • Naval Exercise Kakadu
    • Ausindex (Navy)
    • Ex AUSTRA HIND (Army)
  • Multilateral Exercise:
    • Malabar: Australia will host the "Malabar" exercises in August 2023, with participation from India, Japan, and the US.
    • Exercise Pitch Black 22.
• China Factor:
  • Australia-China ties became strained due to several reasons including Australia banning Huawei from the 5G network, call for enquiry into the origins of Covid-19 and Slamming china’s human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hongkong.
  • China responded by imposing trade barriers on Australian exports, and by cutting off all ministerial contact.
  • India is facing Chinese aggression along the border which has been highlighted by incidents such as the Galwan valley clash.
  • Both Australia and India support a rules-based international order and they are seeking to forge regional institutions in the Indo-Pacific which are inclusive, promote further economic integration.
  • The countries’ participation in Quad (India, Australia, US, Japan) is an example of their convergence of interests, based on shared concerns.
• Multilateral Cooperation:
  • Both are members of the Quad, Commonwealth, Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia Pacific Partnership on Climate and Clean Development, Indo-Pacific Economic Forum (IPEF) and have participated in the East Asia Summits.
  • Both countries have also been cooperating as members of the Five Interested Parties (FIP) in the World Trade Organization context.
  • Australia is an important player in Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and supports India's membership of the organisation.
• Economic Cooperation:
  • Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA):
    • It is the first free trade agreement signed by India with a developed country in a decade which entered into force in December 2022.
  • Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI):
    • India and Australia are partners in the trilateral arrangement along with Japan which seeks to enhance the resilience of supply chains in the Indo-Pacific Region.
  • Bilateral trade:
    • Australia is currently India's 17th largest trading partner, and India is Australia's 9^th largest trading partner.
    • The bilateral trade between India and Australia (April – November 2022) stood at USD 18,903 million.
    • Australia occupies the 29th position in FDI equity inflows into India with a cumulative FDI amount of USD 1,060.27 million from April 2000 – September 2022.
• Cooperation in Education Sector:
  • The Mechanism for Mutual Recognition of Educational Qualifications (MREQ) was signed in March 2023. This will facilitate mobility of students between India and Australia.
  • Deakin University and University of Wollongong are planning to open campuses in India.
  • More than 1 lakh Indian students are pursuing higher education degrees in Australian universities, making Indian students the second largest cohort of foreign students in Australia.
• Cooperation on Clean Energy:
  • In 2022, both countries signed a Letter of Intent on New and Renewable Energy for cooperation to reduce the cost of renewable energy technologies, including ultra low-cost solar and clean hydrogen.
  • India announced Australian Dollars (AUD) 10 million for Pacific Island Countries under the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
  • Both the countries committed to USD 5.8 million to the three-year India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.

Way Forward

• The India-Australia relations have strengthened in recent years due to shared values, interests, geography, and objectives.
• Both countries envision a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region, unilateral or coercive actions are not preferred and are to be avoided in resolving any disagreements or conflicts.
• Renewed relationship between India- Australia through initiatives such as India Australia bilateral Summits give an opportunity to further strengthen the ties between the two countries to play an active role in ensuring rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific.