India, Australia ink 3 pacts to expand defence ties

The defence minister said both sides discussed potential for "deeper defence industry partnerships".

New Delhi: Amid Chinese maritime footprint getting bigger in the Indian Ocean region, India on Thursday signed an agreement with Australia to rescue each other’s submarines in case of an emergency besides offering its Quad partner to maintain, repair and overhaul the Royal Australian Navy ships in Indian yards.

In their first bilateral meeting at Canberra described as “productive” by the two sides, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles also signed two other pacts on “information exchange” and “Joint Staff talks” while opening up the doors for Australia along with Japan to be present as an “observer” at the India-USA Air Force exercise Cope India 2025.

Rajnath, currently on a two-day visit to Australia, called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and met Foreign Minister Penny Wong, broadly focusing on imparting more dynamism to the relations.

The two defence ministers affirmed the importance of enhancing cooperation with regional partners to help maintain a free, open, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific, underscoring their strong support for freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded trade in the region.

The resolve came against the backdrop of China's People’s Liberation Army Navy increasing military assertiveness in the strategic waters.

The submarine rescue agreement materialises at a time when Australia is likely to to get nuclear-powered submarines from the USA and UK under an AUKUS security pact. The submarines will be based in Western Australia on the northeastern edge of the Indian Ocean.

The Singh-Marles meeting marked five years of the India-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, with both sides reaffirming their shared commitment to deepening defence cooperation across a wide spectrum, including maritime security, defence industry collaboration and joint research in science and technology.

They reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing collaboration on maritime domain awareness and looked forward to a second collaborative activity on the margins of Exercise Malabar in November 2025 with the two nations expressing strong support for initiatives that advance closer maritime surveillance cooperation among the four Quad partners.

In his remarks, Singh reiterated New Delhi’s stand with regards to the threat of terrorism and maintained terror and talks could not go together, referring to India's policy towards Pakistan. "I thank Australia for its steadfast support on cross-border terrorism & shared regional stability. Together, we will deepen cooperation for a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific," he said.

As part of his engagements, a live air-to-air refuelling demonstration was organised onboard the KC-30A Multi Role Transport and Tanker Aircraft (MRTT), refuelling an F-35 aircraft en route to Canberra, the defence ministry said.

A Joint Statement issued by the two sides said the ministers were pleased with the collaborative maritime domain awareness and anti-submarine warfare activities by Australian and Indian maritime patrol aircraft in the Indian Ocean.

"They also agreed to continue aircraft deployment from each other's territories to build operational familiarity. The ministers welcomed the ongoing cooperation under the Australia-India-Indonesia trilateral format to address common challenges," it said.