Defence Minister AK Antony will discuss the entire gamut of bilateral defence ties including joint exercises, maritime security situation in the Indian Ocean and co-operation in fighting terrorism with Australia during his four-day visit there starting June 3. Incidentally, this is his maiden visit to Australia as Defence Minister.
Accompanied by newly appointed defence secretary RK Mathur and top military officials, Antony will hold discussions with his counterpart Stephen Smith, officials said here on Sunday adding Antony is also likely to make stopovers in Singapore and Thailand.
Antony, who was earlier scheduled to visit Australia in January but the trip was postponed by the Government, will explore the possibility of holding regular bilateral naval exercises with Australia like with the US and UK in his talks, officials said.
Australia is keen to have these exercises with the growing profile of India in the Indian Ocean region and most littoral states in this area coming together under Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. New Delhi took the lead in fashioning this body and more than 30 countries are now its part and hold regular meetings to discuss issues like terrorism, piracy and guarding each other’s interests.
In 2011, Smith had visited India when the two countries had agreed upon ensuring freedom of navigation in international waters against the backdrop of the controversy over the South China Sea. China had then questioned the presence of ships from Philippines and other countries located on the rim of South China Sea.
The two ministers had then also agreed to examine the possibility of undertaking a full-fledged bilateral naval exercise in future and institute a Track 1.5 dialogue (at semi-government level) on defence matters.
Moreover, in a recently released ‘Defence White Paper,’ Australia has mentioned the rise of India in the global framework and said, “India is emerging as an important strategic, diplomatic and economic actor, ‘looking East,’ and becoming more engaged in regional frameworks.”
Meanwhile, Army Chief General Bikram Singh left for France on a four-day official visit starting Sunday. He will hold discussion on enhancing defence ties with France on various aspects including joint training, counter terrorism and defence procurement. India shares good bilateral and strategic relations with France that are multifaceted and have been strengthened over the years with regular exchange of visits at political, diplomatic and military levels. Singh’s visit will add the necessary impetus to the existing defence relationship and broad-base it into a mutually beneficial partnership, officials said.
Relations in the field of defence with France have graduated from military cooperation to comprehensive defence cooperation, to include courses, training for UN Peacekeeping Operations, joint training and exercises in the fields of counter terrorism, exchange of observers on each others’ Army exercises and defence procurement.
During his visit, the Army Chief will interact with Defence Minister Jean Yves le Drian, Adm Edouard Guillaud, Chief of General Staff Admiral Edouard Guillaud and Army Chief General Bertrand Ract-Madoux and discuss various defence related issues.