DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath Singh and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles have agreed to advance collaborative maritime domain awareness activities using maritime patrol aircraft and to explore opportunities to enhance undersea domain awareness. The two leaders on Monday co-chaired the second edition of the India-Australia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue in New Delhi.
According to a joint statement issued by the two countries, the ministers welcomed the significant progress in bilateral relationship and reflected on the enhanced consultation and cooperation since the inaugural edition of the dialogue on October 9 last year.
The joint statement noted that the two sides discussed efforts to finalise the Joint Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap.
“They agreed to progress the collaborative maritime domain awareness activities by maritime patrol aircraft and explore opportunities to enhance undersea domain awareness,” it said, adding that they also encouraged further cooperation between the Indian Coast Guard and Australia’s Maritime Border Command.
Marles also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday. After the Meet, Jaishankar posted on X: “A pleasure to meet Deputy Prime Minister & Defence Minister Richard Marles of Australia today. Shared assessments on regional developments, Indo Pacific and further advancement of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”
Boost to bilateral ties
India-Australia relations gained significant momentum following PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Australia in 2014. The relationship has since produced several key security agreements, including the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA).
Singh and Marles, during the meet, affirmed the importance of enhancing cooperation with regional partners to help maintain a free, open, peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
“They underscored the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight, and their strong support for unimpeded trade in the region & other lawful uses of the sea consistent with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” the statement noted.
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The statement further said India and Australia, as co-leads of the Indian Ocean Rim Association Working Group on Maritime Safety and Security, look forward to jointly host a Search & Rescue and tabletop exercise at Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Chennai this month to strengthen maritime safety and security cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.
“The two sides undertook to explore arrangements to enhance procedural interoperability for exercises and operations, building on the 2020 Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement,” it said, adding that they also agreed to continue aircraft deployment from each other’s territories to build operational familiarity. The ministers announced that India and Australia would begin developing a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Provision of Defence Articles and Defence Services as the next step in deepening defence industrial collaboration. The two sides agreed to explore further exchanges, including through the Joint Working Group on Defence Industry, Research and Materiel.
The Ministers are keen on exploring future defence science and technology research cooperation in new technology areas like sensor technologies,” the statement.
The Australian Deputy Prime Minister invited India to participate in the 2026 Australian Defence Science, Technology and Research Summit.
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Both sides also discussed the growing engagement between their defence forces, including in the upcoming Exercise Talisman Sabre 2027, Australia’s participation in India’s Exercise Milan and Australia’s Exercise Kakadu in February and March this year.
“They looked forward to their countries’ participation in each other’s multinational air exercises in 2026, including operationalising the bilateral Implementing Arrangement on Air-to-Air Refuelling at Exercise Pitch Black,” the statement said. It added that the two sides noted with satisfaction the expansion of military cooperation into new areas.
“They welcomed the evolution of Army Exercise Austrahind this year to focus on amphibious combat and littoral manoeuvres. Australia welcomed India’s inaugural participation in Operation Render Safe 2026,” the statement said, adding that India welcomed Australia’s invitation for participation in submarine rescue exercise Black Carillon.
The Ministers welcomed increased information sharing between operational headquarters and said they are looking forward to the inaugural Joint Staff Talks later this year, the statement said. The two leaders encouraged their officials to finalise arrangements for the deployment of an Indian visiting instructor at the Australian Defence College in 2028-2029 to strengthen professional military engagement, knowledge exchange, and strategic alignment.
