India – Australia ink down the defense pact.
These days India is sharing dreadful relations with China and the reasons are out in the open.Gulwan valley standoff has deteriorated the relations between the two asian nations. Along With this China is also increasing its Aggression in Indian Ocean.Recently Indian Naval Forces confirmed that China used 12 underwater drones to collect oceanography data and the list goes on.On the other hand another commonwealth nation Australia is strongly recommending an investigation to pinpoint china as the origin of Covid-19.In retaliation China is warning of imposing sanctions on australia.China is persuading the students to avoid Australia as a possible destination for foriegn studies as foriegn students contribute significantly to the GDP of Australia.
In these conflicts a much awaited pact which was delayed due to Australian bushfires has been signed between India and Australia named Mutual Logistics Support Agreement(MLSA).It will allow two countries to use each other’s naval bases ultimately boosting up the overall defense cooperation and interoperability between the armed forces of two nations.These bases will be used for replenishment ,repair and surveillance purposes.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Scott Morrison signed this pact along with six other pacts(cyber technology, mining and minerals, military technology, vocational education and water resources management) during an online summit thereby strengthening Indo-pacific relations.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands of india and Cocos Islands of Australia has been included in this pact which are strategically important for both the nations.India will have an extensive access to the oceans providing an upper hand to the submarine fleet of china as India may establish many checkpoints for the surveillance purposes and carry out anti-submarine missions.Similarly it will help australia to enhance its presence in these regions.It will also facilitate frequent joint exercises between two forces.
Australia is an important nation for India in its Indo-pacific policy and also India-Australia share good trade relations. So these collaborative agreements in this period of global pandemic are crucial for both the nations. At the same time it will contribute as an apt reply to China for increasing its presence along LAC.
