India-Australia Defence Cooperation

A recalibration of U.S. global security commitments has created uncertainty in traditional alliances like NATO and affected Indo-Pacific dynamics. This shifting landscape offers India and Australia a strategic opportunity to strengthen their defence partnership amid growing regional challenges, particularly China’s assertiveness.

India-Australia Defence Cooperation: Strategic Imperatives in a Changing Global Security Order

• Strategic Complementarities and Institutional Foundations
  • Geostrategic Synergy: Australia’s location straddling the Indian and Pacific Oceans, coupled with military reach into Southeast Asia, aligns with India’s maritime outreach goals and provides a strategic buffer against regional threats.
  • Shared Security Concerns: Both nations confront common regional risks, particularly China’s maritime assertiveness, and support a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific—laying the groundwork for deepening strategic convergence.
  • Robust Institutional Architecture: Key frameworks such as the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2020), 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue (2021), and Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) provide a mature foundation for operational-level cooperation, complemented by exercises like AUSINDEX, AUSTRAHIND, and Pitch Black.
• Operational and Personnel-Level Enhancements Needed
  • Tri-Service Engagement Expansion: Current cooperation is Navy-centric. Future joint military exercises must break service silos, emulate real-time combat scenarios, and incorporate all three services through a unified joint-staff mechanism.
  • Diplomatic-Military Representation Reforms: India should elevate its Defence Adviser in Canberra to one-star rank and appoint dedicated Army and Air Force officials to enhance institutional presence and engagement across service domains, including Pacific Island outreach.
  • Ground-Level Strategic Inputs: Defence cooperation should move beyond top-level diplomacy. Operational personnel should be integrated into strategic dialogues through fellowships, classified war-gaming, and structured working-group level interactions for actionable insights.
• Technology, Industry and Forward Pathways
  • Naval MRO and Maritime Capacity-Building: India should partner with Australia in Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services for naval assets and co-develop patrol boats for Indian Ocean and Pacific Island nations, enhancing interoperability and technology exposure.
  • Defence Industry and MSME Linkages: There is untapped potential for defence MSME collaboration. Aligning Australian and Indian startups in dual-use technologies and establishing a bilateral innovation corridor akin to INDUS-X could unlock mutual industrial strengths.
  • Mutual Indigenisation Goals: With both nations advancing domestic defence manufacturing strategies, structured cooperation in components, electronics, and aerospace tech can strengthen indigenous capacities while reducing external dependencies.

Practice Question:

In the context of evolving global security alignments, critically examine the strategic rationale for enhanced India-Australia defence cooperation. Discuss the institutional, operational, and industrial dimensions that must be strengthened to realise their shared Indo-Pacific vision.