Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy signed a ‘Joint Guidance for the Australia- India Navy to Navy Relationship’ document on August 18, 2021.
Highlights
- Document signing ceremony was held virtually between Chief of the Naval Staff of Indian Navy, Adm Karambir Singh; and Chief of Navy of Australian Navy, Vice Admiral Michael J Noonan.
- Document is in line with the ‘2020 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’.
- 2020 comprehensive strategic partnership was agreed by the Prime Ministers with the aim of ensuring shared approached to regional and global security challenges.
About the Joint Guidance Document
- Joint Guidance will serve as a guideline document in order to showcase the determination of both the Navies in order to work together bilaterally or multilaterally.
- The broad scope of the document focuses on developing mutual understanding, on cooperating for regional security, on collaborating in mutually beneficial activities and on developing interoperability.
- It primarily highlights on close cooperation in regional and multilateral fora such as Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), and Expert Working Groups that are subordinate to Meeting Plus framework of ASEAN Defence Ministers.
- It will help in consolidating the shared commitment to promote peace, security, stability as well as prosperity in the Indo – Pacific region.
Defence relations between India and Australia
Bilateral defence relations have strengthened over the years between both the countries. Significant milestones of the relationship include Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’, conduct of trilateral Maritime Security Workshop, Mutual Logistics Support Agreement and RAN participation in Exercise MALABAR. These exercises highlight the role played by both Navies in strengthening their relationship in recent times.