New Delhi: India and Australia have signalled greater cooperation with widening cooperation and growing convergence of views on a range of issues, including defence and security perspectives. In this respect, an Australian delegation visited the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) for discussions on October 17, 2013.
The strengthening of relations between the two nations was marked by the visits of the then Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to India last year and Defence Minister AK Anthony’s visit to Australia earlier this year. Further, with a change in government in Canberra India can expect new avenues to open up.
India-Australia relations are witnessing a new dynamism with growing economic expansion and an interest in regional stability. The region has been marked by transformative economic and strategic changes; the concept of ‘Indo-Pacific’ has entered into the strategic lexicon. The region which is in a state of strategic flux is being constantly redefined and the concept of ‘Indo-Pacific’ has gained increasing currency in Australia. It has evinced greater interest in Indian Ocean. India and Australia are exploring new avenues of cooperation in the economic and strategic fields. India’s and Australia’s growing interest in security of the Indian Ocean region and non- traditional security challenges facing the region were also discussed at IDSA.
A series of developments in the past one year have brought the Asia-Pacific into prominence. The region has been marked by transformative economic and strategic changes and both India and Australia are well placed to play a role in the region.
The Australian government released a series of papers - including the Defence White Paper, Australia in the Asian Century White Paper and a National Security Strategy- which lay out Australia’s engagement with Asia, with special reference to India. India’s economic reforms and opening up to the East Asian and the Asia-Pacific region through its Look East policy in the 1990s, on the other hand, has opened up new vistas for India-Australia engagement. Phase two of the Look East policy, in particular, has led to India’s greater engagement with Australia.
Greater Cooperation, New Dynamism between India, Australia Feel Experts