India relationship strengthened

Scott Morrison’s summit by video link with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundations for a closer strategic relationship with New Delhi that will be potentially important for the Indo-Pacific region. There were no specific agenda items concerning China’s increasing aggression, but Beijing was the proverbial elephant in the room as the leaders reached agreement under a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The pact highlighted the 21st century strategic convergence between Australia and the world’s most populous democracy.

Accords that commit Mr Morrison and Mr Modi to work closely, as the leaders of democratic nations, to ensure the freedom and security of Indo-Pacific shipping lanes are vital at a challenging time in the region. Both nations will allow reciprocal access to each other’s military facilities, including “seamless co-operation across the high seas”. Major new defence, science and technology arrangements designed to “preserve an open, free, safe and secure internet” against disruption were also agreed, as were strategies for securing minerals and medical supply chains.

As Mr Morrison and Mr Modi talked, influential Indian newspaper The Hindu reported that Australia will soon be asked to rejoin the Malabar trilateral naval exercises, bringing together India, the US and Japan. The exercises are regarded as the pinnacle of naval co-operation in the Indo-Pacific and are watched closely by Beijing. Bowing to pressure from China after Australia was invited to take part in the exercises, Kevin Rudd withdrew in February 2008. Attempts by Canberra since then to rejoin the group have been resisted by India.

Indications that New Delhi is keen to see Australia back in the Malabar exercises suggests the Morrison-Modi summit has lifted the bilateral relationship to a new level. This is no surprise at a time when India’s fractious relationship with Beijing is under major new strain, with Chinese troops massed along its 3488km mutual border.

During the summit, Mr Morrison told Mr Modi that it’s time “for our relationship to go broader and deeper … with friends we trust … (and with which) we share a vision for open, free, rules-based multilateral systems in our region”. Mr Modi responded by saying that, as democracies, both India and Australia had a “sacred responsibility” to uphold and protect “the rule of law, freedom, mutual respect, respect for international institutions and transparency”. Those messages should resonate with other regional democracies such as Singapore and South Korea, which could also be brought into an expanded Malabar naval defence arrangement.

Despite the success of the summit, important challenges remain. Nine years after a trade agreement was first mooted, Mr Morrison and Mr Modi have agreed to resume stalled negotiations. Mr Modi needs to do more, however, to help expedite a deal.