SYDNEY – Australia and India signed a landmark agreement on mutual submarine rescue and pledged to deepen collaboration in maritime security and defence industries during their first annual defence ministers’ dialogue held in Canberra on Thursday.
India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, making the first visit by an Indian defence minister to Australia in over a decade, met his counterpart Richard Marles to discuss expanding cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. A joint statement issued after the meeting said both nations would enhance defence technology collaboration and operational coordination.
Under the new arrangements, India has offered to maintain and repair Royal Australian Navy vessels in Indian shipyards during deployments in the Indian Ocean, a move seen as boosting logistical cooperation and naval interoperability.
Marles said the dialogue marked a deepening of strategic and operational ties between the two democracies. “All of that is taking our high-level strategic alignment and taking this to a much deeper operational level,” he noted during his opening remarks.
The talks also reviewed ongoing defence coordination among partners in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), comprising Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, as they collectively aim to ensure stability and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific amid growing regional tensions.
Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus pact with Britain and the United States was also highlighted as part of a broader regional security framework. Both nations reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific through closer defence ties and shared maritime strategies.