India and Australia recently held discussions on advancing their bilateral maritime security cooperation and finalizing the Joint Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap. During the second India–Australia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue in New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, agreed to enhance collaborative maritime domain awareness activities using maritime patrol aircraft and explore opportunities to boost undersea domain awareness. The ministers acknowledged the progress made in the bilateral relationship since the inaugural Defence Ministers’ Dialogue in October 2025, aiming to strengthen collective strength and contribute to regional peace and security.
Welcoming the advancements in cooperation, both ministers emphasized the importance of enhancing collaboration with regional partners to uphold a free, open, peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. They highlighted the significance of freedom of navigation, overflight, and unimpeded trade in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Additionally, as co-leads of the IORA Working Group on Maritime Safety and Security, India and Australia are set to host a Search and Rescue (SAR) and tabletop Exercise at Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Chennai, to bolster maritime safety and security cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The ministers also committed to exploring enhanced procedural interoperability for exercises and operations, building on the 2020 Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement. They announced plans to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the Provision of Defence Articles and Defence Services to deepen defence industrial collaboration between the two countries. Furthermore, India and Australia are looking into potential defense science and technology research cooperation in emerging areas such as sensor technologies, with India invited to participate in the 2026 Australian Defence Science, Technology, and Research Summit.
Both countries are expanding military cooperation into new domains, with a focus on areas like amphibious combat and littoral maneuver. They are also increasing engagement between their armies, navies, and air forces through various exercises. The ministers highlighted the growing strategic convergence between India, Australia, Japan, and the United States in the Indo-Pacific region and reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing collaboration on maritime domain awareness to improve interoperability among the partners. They expressed strong support for initiatives like the Quad Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration (IPMSC) and the development of a Common Operational Picture (COP) across the Indo-Pacific.
