Recently, a dialogue was held under a trilateral framework for the first time between India, Australia, and France. It has been agreed upon by all three sides to make this an annual occurrence. The central topic of focus was on improving cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, with Australia and France rising as significant strategic partners for India, especially in maritime matters.
Key Points of Cooperation
The dynamic partnership between India, Australia, and France has seen growth in areas like logistics and information exchange for Maritime Domain Awareness. India enjoys logistics accords with both countries, facilitating more comfortable access to supplies of goods and services. France took a step towards improving Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) by becoming the first to position a Liaison Officer at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre.
A notable milestone was India’s inaugural joint patrols with France at Reunion Island in February 2020.
The Chinese Factor
The trilateral cooperation also serves the purpose of countering China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region, such as in the South China Sea. It augments the Quad’s diplomatic strength, which includes the USA, Japan, Australia, and India, and is forming an international coalition to counter China’s belligerence.
Issues Discussed in the Dialogue
Crucial issues considered during the dialogue included the potential for enhancing maritime security cooperation, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief. Other topics discussed were mutual logistics support, capacity-building, development cooperation initiatives, and the necessity for reformed multilateralism.
Additionally, there was deliberation on the increased importance of resilient supply chains due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s financial impact on the Indian Ocean region countries. As a recent development, India, Australia, and Japan signed the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), which may also soon include France.
Importance of the Indo-Pacific Region
The Indo-Pacific region holds global significance. During the 2018 Shangrila Dialogue, India outlined its vision of the Indo-Pacific, stretching from Africa to America, encompassing both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The region is abundant in natural resources and major economies like China, Japan, Korea, and the United States rely heavily on it for trade. Major economies like India play a crucial role in this region, with numerous naval exercises being conducted with ASEAN, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
The Path Ahead
France and Australia have emerged as essential partners for India in the Indo-Pacific region. The dialogue created an opportunity to build upon the progress made bilaterally in recent years by these three countries. As the three nations take their cooperation to a higher level of strategic partnership, it will contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Source
This factual report has been adapted from the original article published on the IE.