Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist March 2019

SPECIAL REPORT Armies of both countries also participate in the joint military exercise ‘Austra-Hind’. Australian armed forces were also invited to participate in Special Forces Bilateral Exercise conducted in October 2016. Australia and India continue to build robust people-to-people links between the defence forces through visits including at the level of Service Chiefs, regular Naval, Air Force and Army talks and regular personnel and training exchanges at Defence Staﬀ Colleges and training institutes. Such representations are likely to increase on both sides over the coming years as defence relations expand. One such exchange was the visit of RAN oﬃ cials to Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala in July 2018. The visit provided professional exposure and insight into training methodology of Indian Armed Forces to the young RAN oﬃ cers. Australia and India also have '2+2' secretary- level dialogue. The inaugural dialogue to discuss key issues related to their strategic and defence ties was held in New Delhi in December 2017 and the second edition of the dialogue was hosted by Australia in Canberra in October 2018. Further ADMM Plus meetings to “discuss peace and security cooperation, build stability and promote greater defence cooperation” in major identiﬁ ed areas including maritime security, HADR, military medicine, counter-terrorism and peacekeeping operations” are an important milestone in the evolving security architecture of the region. Both countries regularly participate in the ADMM-Plus meetings since it began in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010. Prime Minister and Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia at Hyderabad House in New Delhi In recent times defence relationship between the two countries has been expanding. The former Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull during his visit to India in April 2017 engaged in wide-ranging discussions with the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. Both the leaders committed to deepening broad-based bilateral, defence and security partnerships. The leaders recognised ensuring maritime security, respect of maritime legal order, resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means and the safety of sea lanes of communication, freedom of navigation and over-ﬂ ight and unimpeded lawful commerce as the issues of common concerns and also reiterated joint commitment to enhancing regional cooperation. Recognizing terrorism as one of the most serious threats, a MoU on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime was signed. 4 Over the years, the defence relationship has grown to include a range of forums for strategic dialogue as well as regular interactions between the respective services. India and Australia have a shared understanding of geopolitical rebalancing in the Indo-Paciﬁ c. On various occasions both countries have reiterated the signiﬁ cance of regional multilateral security architecture particularly under frameworks like East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). In recent years as Australia looks forward to adopting the Indo- Paciﬁ c worldview, it has emphasised relations with its western neighbourhood especially India. At the same time, India’s reinvigorated ‘Act East’ policy focused on its extended eastern neighbourhood has brought Australia in India’s ambit of interest. The two countries broadly share objectives of stability, openness, and rules based order in the Indo-Pacific. Growing economic, strategic and political complementarities and mutual understanding between the two countries will further facilitate defence cooperation.  * The author is Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Aﬀ airs, New Delhi. She has a Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She primarily works on the Indo- Pacifi c region. References: 1 India-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation during visit of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, November 12, 2009, https://mea.gov.in/ bilateral-documents. htm?dtl/5035/indiaaus tralia+joint+declarat ion+on+security+coo peration+during+visit +of+prime+minister+ kevin+rudd 2 Milan 2018, Indian Navy, https:// www.indiannavy.nic. in/content/milan-2018 3 Conclusion: Exercise Pitch Black 2018, RAAF Base Darwin, Australia, 24 July 2018, Press Information Bureau, http://pib.nic.in/ newsite/PrintRelease. aspx?relid=181966 4 India-Australia Joint Statement during the State visit of Prime Minister of Australia to India, April 10, 2017, https://www.mea.gov. in/bilateral-documents. htm?dtl/28367/IndiaA ustralia+Joint+Statem ent+during+the+State +visit+of+Prime+Mi nister+of+Australia+t o+India Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 3 • March 2019, Noida • 13

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