JOIN USIndia and Australia have signed a landmark Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA). The MLSA is significant for several reasons. It provides the two countries with reciprocal access to each other’s military bases for logistical support. This means that their militaries will be able to access each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, which would prove particularly critical in times of war. The MLSA facilitates the scaling up of overall bilateral defence cooperation, too. This is especially so with India and Australia deciding to elevate their Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. However, the MLSA’s significance goes beyond India-Australia bilateral cooperation. It is part of a series of pacts that New Delhi has entered into to beef up its position against an increasingly assertive and aggressive China. It has signed similar military logistics cooperation agreements with the US, France, South Korea and Singapore and proposes to finalise one with Japan. It is noteworthy that all the countries with whom India has signed such pacts are countries wary of China.
Hitherto, India’s strategic approach to China has been one of ambiguity. It has been reticent about getting into groupings that would be perceived as anti-China. Its half-hearted approach to the ‘Quad’ has been one example of such reticence. When officials from India, the US, Australia and Singapore met under the ‘Quad’ format in November 2018, they failed to issue a joint statement. The separate statements which were issued by participating countries reflected their national priorities. India at that time did not want to be seen ganging up against China. That reluctance appears to be changing.
Although the MLSA makes no mention of China, it is bound to raise hackles in Beijing. China has only itself to blame for the growing willingness of countries to band together to improve their military preparedness. China has repeatedly ratcheted up tensions with India along the Line of Actual Control in recent years. Its ties with Canberra are unravelling with Beijing threatening action to curtail trade with Australia in retaliation for the latter’s criticism of China’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, China’s relations with many countries, including the US, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, etc., are caught in a downward spiral. China must wake up to the fact that its aggressive behaviour is forcing countries to put arrangements in place to secure themselves. Pacts like MLSA are not aimed at threatening China but at deterring it from considering aggression. It is aimed at containing China’s offensive behaviour.