Australia 'unapologetically ambitious' about ties with India: Envoy

We see that in the South China Sea, and of course, we see it on Indias own borders.Rapid military buildup, grey zone tactics, coercive statecraft persistently threatened stability in the Indo-Pacific, and new and emerging threats are starting to intersect with geopolitics, climate change, pandemics, supply chain instability and inflation, Green said.The envoy also said Australias work in the Indian Ocean is far less mature than it is in the Pacific, and the continent has an ambition to do more in this crucial domain.Yes, our effort there Indian Ocean is not mature.

Australia is “unapologetically ambitious” about its relationship with India, and is keen to do more together in the strategic Indo-Pacific island states, a top Australian envoy said on Tuesday.

The two nations have complementary knowledge and strengths in supporting island nations, he said.

“Australia and India share a vision... of an Indo-Pacific where the sovereignty of all states, big and small alike, is respected, where states can make decisions free from coercion,” Philip Green, the Australian High Commissioner to India, said.

Green was speaking here at the ‘Kolkata Dialogue - Australia and India: Working Together to Build Island State Resilience’, organised by the Australia India Institute in partnership with India’s Observer Research Foundation.

“Australia is unapologetically ambitious for our relationship with India. We believe there is tremendous potential for us to do more together in both Indian and the Pacific Islands,” he said.

The ‘Kolkata Dialogue’ coincided with the two-day 13th Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs' Conference in New Delhi, which started on Tuesday.

Australian and Indian experts deliberated at the ‘Kolkata Dialogue’ on subjects such as building climate resilience in the Indo-Pacific island states, countering economic coercion and disinformation in the region.

“We have entered a decisive decade that holds considerable promise for the Indo-Pacific. But there are certainly challenges, too. Competition between great powers is escalating. Rules are being threatened and undermined. We see that in the South China Sea, and of course, we see it on India's own borders.

“Rapid military buildup, grey zone tactics, coercive statecraft persistently threatened stability in the Indo-Pacific, and new and emerging threats are starting to intersect with geopolitics, climate change, pandemics, supply chain instability and inflation,” Green said.

The envoy also said Australia's work in the Indian Ocean is far less mature than it is in the Pacific, and the continent has an ambition to do more in this “crucial domain”.

“Yes, our effort there (Indian Ocean) is not mature. But, nor are we starting from scratch. We are ramping up our footprint and our operational presence. This year, Australia opened a diplomatic mission in the Maldives. We now have a resident defence adviser in Bangladesh as well as our long-standing high commission there, and we have elevated our defence presence in New Delhi,” Green said.

Australia India Institute Chief Executive Lisa Singh said the ‘Kolkata Dialogue’ was the first major security event hosted by an Australian institution in the eastern metropolis.

''As two influential Indo-Pacific states, Australia and India are uniquely placed to act as security leaders in the Pacific and the Indian oceans,'' Singh added.

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