India, Australia to upgrade security ties

By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI, AUG. 29. Sharing a common concern for keeping vital trade arteries towards South-East Asia open, India and Australia are looking at a new security relationship. Australia had expressed its keenness to engage India in the security arena during the visit to Canberra in June by the External Affairs and Defence Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh. A team of Australian specialists is arriving here on Thursday to identify the areas of cooperation.

The Indian side to the first round of the security dialogue will be led by the Joint Secretary (DISA), Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Sheel Kant Sharma.

In a security partnership with Australia, India's decision to go head with a tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command (A and N) is vital. With its headquarters at Port Blair, this command will be capable of exercising influence over the main sea lanes heading towards the Strait of Malacaa, the gateway to South-East Asia.

Sources said that Australia had shown interest in the safety of its ships heading towards the straits as a sizeable section of its trade towards the west passes through Malacca, the second busiest commercial highway in the world. Ships then head towards Australia through the Lombok straits, the narrow inlet in the Indonesian archipelago. The Lombok straits are straddled by the island of Bali to the west and Lombok to the east.

Cemented by the common strategic stakes in the stability of South-East Asia, the visiting team for the upcoming dialogue is also expected to explore the possibilities of establishing new communication link-ups and intelligence sharing. Besides, India is keen on studying Australia's tri-service experience in running the military structures under the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Both sides are also looking at ways of working together to ensure energy security.

The positive shift in India-Australia ties follows a warming of India's relations with the industrialised world, including the U.S. Sources said India, Australia and Japan could play a prominent role in the future security architecture for the region.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Gujral opposes selective de-nuclearisation
Next     : India may 'soften' stand on trade round