India and Australia have issued a Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation. The declaration deepens an already expanding partnership and places the Indo-Pacific, maritime security, counter-terror cooperation and defence-industrial collaboration at the centre of the relationship. It is important for UPSC because it links bilateral diplomacy with regional security architecture and technology cooperation.

The declaration reaffirms the vitality of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), established in 2020. It also notes the earlier India-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation of 2009, showing that the present move builds on a longer security track rather than starting a new one.

The text says the two sides share a common ambition for an open, peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. It also notes geostrategic uncertainty and threats to regional peace and stability, and calls on all parties to resolve disputes peacefully, without the threat or use of force or coercion, and in accordance with international law.

What existed earlier

The bilateral security relationship has been shaped by a set of institutional channels. These include the Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue (FMFD), the 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue and the Defence Ministers’ Dialogue. The declaration treats these mechanisms as the base on which a more advanced partnership will be built.

The declaration also aligns the partnership with regional institutions and principles. It supports the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), ASEAN and ASEAN-centred regional architecture, and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). It reiterates adherence to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), including freedom of navigation and overflight.

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