India and Australia yesterday sealed a military logistics pact in an online summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that lays the ground for greater military exchanges and exercises.
The agreement to provide access to each other’s military bases, in line with a similar accord that India has struck with the US, is seen as part of a broader strategy to counter China’s military and economic weight in the region.
Indian troops are locked in a standoff with Chinese troops on their disputed border, the most serious crisis in years, on top of concerns about a huge trade imbalance in Beijing’s favor.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Australia’s trade frictions with China are also growing and its push last month for an international review into the origins and spread of COVID-19 drew opposition from China.
Morrison was in January scheduled to travel to India, but was forced to cancel the trip because of a bushfire crisis in Australia.
Holding of the summit now, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, shows the importance the two leaders attach to bilateral ties, officials said.
“This is the first time that Prime Minister Modi will be holding a ‘Bilateral Virtual Summit’ — this signifies the strengthening of ties with Australia and its upward trajectory,” Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.
The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement allows military ships and aircraft to refuel and access maintenance facilities at each other’s bases.
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, military officials said.
A similar exercise in 2007 angered China.
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