Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declares India 'top tier' security partner during aircraft carrier visit
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used a landmark visit to India's flagship carrier INS Vikrant to declare that India is a "top tier" defence partner and announce Indian forces will join the massive Talisman Sabre war games in Australia this year.
Mr Albanese also confirmed that Australia would this year host the Operation Malabar naval exercises with the United States, India and Japan as all four nations remain intent on boosting interoperability.
Australia and India have rapidly expanded their defence relationship since 2014, when the two nations held their first ever joint naval exercises.
But Australian officials say Mr Albanese's visit to India's first domestically built aircraft carrier — the first such visit by a foreign leader — is a powerful symbol of New Delhi's willingness to further entrench strategic ties with Canberra.
Mr Albanese climbed into the cockpit of an Indian light fighter jet on the deck of INS Vikrant before meeting with Indian naval personnel on deck.
In a brief speech he called India a "top-tier security partner" for Australia, telling the gathering that the Indian Ocean was "central to both countries' security and prosperity."
"There has never been a point in both of our countries' histories where we've had such a strong strategic alignment," the prime minister said.
Mr Albanese also said there had "never been a busier or more productive time in our defence and security partnership" and that the two nations last year "conducted more exercises, operations and dialogues than ever before."
This year, that will include Talisman Sabre, which is held every two years and conducted at designated ADF training facilities primarily throughout Queensland and in areas of the Coral Sea.
Thousands of personnel from multiple nations – including the US, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom – participated in the war games in 2021.
It's not yet clear how many Indian personnel will take part in 2023, but Australia has been pushing for India to participate since at least 2021, when then defence minister Peter Dutton pressed his counterpart to join.
Australia's hosting of Exercise Malabar this year also shows how far attitudes have shifted in New Delhi – for several years India resisted Australia's push to participate in the exercise at all, effectively restricting it to an observer r
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used a landmark visit to India's flagship carrier INS Vikrant to declare that India is a "top tier" defence partner and announce Indian forces will join the massive Talisman Sabre war games in Australia this year.
Mr Albanese also confirmed that Australia would this year host the Operation Malabar naval exercises with the United States, India and Japan as all four nations remain intent on boosting interoperability.
Australia and India have rapidly expanded their defence relationship since 2014, when the two nations held their first ever joint naval exercises.
But Australian officials say Mr Albanese's visit to India's first domestically built aircraft carrier — the first such visit by a foreign leader — is a powerful symbol of New Delhi's willingness to further entrench strategic ties with Canberra.
Mr Albanese climbed into the cockpit of an Indian light fighter jet on the deck of INS Vikrant before meeting with Indian naval personnel on deck.
In a brief speech he called India a "top-tier security partner" for Australia, telling the gathering that the Indian Ocean was "central to both countries' security and prosperity."
"There has never been a point in both of our countries' histories where we've had such a strong strategic alignment," the prime minister said.
Mr Albanese also said there had "never been a busier or more productive time in our defence and security partnership" and that the two nations last year "conducted more exercises, operations and dialogues than ever before."
This year, that will include Talisman Sabre, which is held every two years and conducted at designated ADF training facilities primarily throughout Queensland and in areas of the Coral Sea.
Thousands of personnel from multiple nations – including the US, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom – participated in the war games in 2021.
It's not yet clear how many Indian personnel will take part in 2023, but Australia has been pushing for India to participate since at least 2021, when then defence minister Peter Dutton pressed his counterpart to join.
Australia's hosting of Exercise Malabar this year also shows how far attitudes have shifted in New Delhi – for several years India resisted Australia's push to participate in the exercise at all, effectively restricting it to an observer r
3 yr. ago
