India and Australia in agreement to use each-other’s military bases
India and Australia advanced their ties to an in-depth strategic partnership and upgraded their 2+2 foreign affairs and defence dialogue to the ministerial level.
Both the countries have sealed a deal to get access to each other's military bases. The Indian foreign ministry said that it’s a pact that would clear the way for more military exchanges and exercises in the Indo-Pacific.
The mutual logistic support agreement was signed during a virtual summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 4th June, 2020.
The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) will facilitate reciprocal access to military logistics facilities, allow more complex joint military exercise and improve interoperability between the armed forces of the two sides.
“India is committed to expanding its relations with Australia at a wider and faster pace. This is important not only for our two countries, but also for the Indo-Pacific region and the world,” Modi said in his opening televised statement (in Hindi).
Morrision said the strategic partnership forged by the two sides will take them “to a whole new level of relationship” and it will “continue to build the trust because we would want commercial and trading relationships that are built on trust”.
Referring to the joint declaration on a shared vision for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, he added, “We share an ocean and we share responsibilities for that ocean as well – its health, well-being and security and the relationship we’re forming around those issues in our maritime domain is the platform for so many other things between our countries.”
Other agreements included a framework arrangement on cyber and cyber-enabled critical technology cooperation, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in mining and processing of critical and strategic minerals, an implementing arrangement on cooperation in defence science and technology to the existing MoU on defence cooperation.
India has a similar pact with the United States, which is seen as part of broader security cooperation to balance China's growing economic and military weight in the region.
As per the military officials, India is also considering Australia's participation in annual naval exercises it holds with the US and Japan in the Indian and Pacific Oceans in a cementing of security ties between the four countries.
