India and Australia have sealed a deal to get access to each other’s
military bases, a pact that will clear the way for more military
exchanges and exercises in the Indo-Pacific.
The mutual logistic support agreement was signed during a virtual
summit between the Indian Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and his
Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
The agreement allows Indian and Australian military ships and aircraft
to refuel and access maintenance facilities at each other’s bases.
India has a similar pact with the United States, which is seen as part
of broader security cooperation to balance the Chinese growing
economic and military weight in the region.
Indian troops are locked in a standoff with Chinese troops on their
disputed border, the most serious crisis in years, on top of concerns
about a huge trade imbalance in Beijing’s favour.
Australia’s trade frictions with the Peoples Republic of China are
also growing, and its push last month for an international review into
the origins and spread of the novel coronavirus drew opposition from
China.
Prime Minister Morrison was due in India in January but was forced to
cancel the trip because of the bushfires crisis in Australia.
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