Australia seeks to Revitalize Indo-Pacific Ties
GS 2 Agreements Involving India &/or Affecting India’s Interests.
Context
- Australia’s closest security partner is India, and the government is focused on renewing Australia’s historically deep engagement with our allies across the Indo-Pacific, according to Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister ahead of a visit to India.
- This is Australia’s first high-level visit since the creation of a new government.
About
- India is one of Australia’s closest security partners, and the government is working to revitalise Australia’s historically profound engagement with our Indo-Pacific partners.
- Australia is ready to collaborate more closely with India in support of an Indo-Pacific that is open, inclusive, and resilient.
- Concerns for the Indo-Pacific: The rules-based international order that has delivered peace and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific for decades is under pressure as the geostrategic order alters.
- India-Australia defence collaboration
- Defence and security cooperation between India and Australia has grown dramatically in recent years, both bilaterally and multilaterally.
- In 2014, both parties pledged to expand defence cooperation to include research, development, and industry participation, as well as to hold frequent meetings at the Defense Minister level, conduct regular maritime exercises, and hold regular service-to-service talks.
- At September 2015, the first-ever Bilateral Maritime Exercise, AUSINDEX, was held in Visakhapatnam (Bay of Bengal).
- For the first time, the Indian Air Force took part in Exercise Pitch Black in Australia in 2018.
- INS Sahyadri took part in Kakadu, the Australian Navy’s biennial exercise held in 2018, in which 27 nations took part.
- In September 2019, the 4th edition of AUSTRAHIND (Special Forces of Army Exercise) was held.
- The India-Australia defence collaboration today involves nearly every important military function:
- Strategic discussions, coordination, and information sharing
- Ground, air, and naval forces participate in military drills.
- Training and exchanges
- Cooperation in defence science and technology.
- India and Australia have joined the recently created Quad, which also includes the United States and Japan, to strengthen cooperation and develop partnerships on a variety of problems of mutual importance.
- Both countries have recently taken steps.
- In recent months, India and Australia have increased marine interoperability.
- A ‘Joint Guidance for Navy to Navy Relationship Document’ has been signed by both parties.
- The statement stresses close cooperation in regional and multilateral fora such as the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and ASEAN.
- The document is in line with the ‘2020 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ signed by India and Australia’s Prime Ministers.
- India and Australia inked a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement to strengthen bilateral defence ties.
- As part of coordinated maritime efforts, Australia has also deployed a Liaison Officer to the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR).
- India and Australia are also dealing with the disruption in person-to-person contacts caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
- This year marks the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, and the Defence Ministry’s major engagement initiative, ‘Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2022,’ returns to India.
What precisely is the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR)?
The Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) includes the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the Western and Central Pacific Oceans, and the seas that connect them, as well as most of East Asia, South Asia, South East Asia, and Oceania.
This notion is shared by India and the South East Asian nations at the heart of the IPR region.
China is considering a more limited version of the IPR, confining it to the Indian and Pacific Oceans on either side of the Malacca Straits.
The Importance of the Indo-Pacific
Geostrategic:
- According to some analysts, a Great Power struggle is taking place between the United States and China in the buffer zone between the Atlantic and Pacific.
- Emerging zone of regional power conflict such as maritime border disputes in the South China Sea (SCS) (SCS).
- The emergence of new regional powers such as Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, and ASEAN.
- Strategic choke points such as Bab-al-Mandeb and Malacca Strait are located on each side of the IPR.
- India’s strategic location in the region causes issues about marine security, which may be successfully addressed through the IPR region.
Geopolitical:
- The region has a vast population (almost half of the world’s population) and a diversified culture.
- The presence of seven of the world’s ten largest militaries.
- The presence of various regional security forums, including the ASEAN Regional Forum and the newly formed Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD).
- The presence of the Diamond of Democracies, including India, Japan, the United States, and Australia, in the region.
Geo-economic:
- IPR includes the most important trade and commerce lines, with $5.3 trillion in trade passing through this region each year.
- More than 90% of India’s trade by volume and 75% by value travels via the Indo-Pacific area.
- The presence of seven of the eight fastest growing markets, as well as the world’s three largest economies, namely the United States, China, and Japan.
The Asian Century:
- It is predicted that the twenty-first century will be known as the Asian century due to the growth of new economies such as China, India, and Japan on the global arena.
Importance of the Environment:
- The presence of the world’s greatest number of biodiversity hotspots, which are critical to the preservation of the blue planet.
- The success of the Paris Climate Agreement is heavily dependent on the actions of the three largest greenhouse gas emitter nations, namely the United States, China, and India. They are all owned by the IPR.
Way Ahead
- India and Australia are eager to collaborate in order to fully realise the potential of the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
- This collaboration is built on a shared vision of an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, inclusive, and rule-based.
- Both countries should work to increase bilateral defence and security cooperation.
