India and Australia advance maritime and undersea domain awareness cooperation

India and Australia have agreed to step up cooperation on maritime domain awareness and to explore work on undersea domain awareness after defence minister talks in New Delhi. The discussions were led by India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles. The two sides said they want to deepen practical security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific through patrol aircraft activity, coast guard links and a planned maritime security roadmap.

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The ministers co-chaired the second India-Australia Defence Ministers' Dialogue on Monday in New Delhi. In a joint statement, they said they welcomed the progress in bilateral ties and noted the increased consultation and cooperation since the first edition of the dialogue on October 9 last year. They also discussed efforts to finalise a Joint Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap, which is intended to guide future cooperation at sea.

According to the statement, the two sides agreed to progress collaborative maritime domain awareness activities using maritime patrol aircraft. They also said they would explore opportunities to enhance undersea domain awareness, a field that can include monitoring activity below the surface in strategically sensitive waters. The statement further encouraged closer cooperation between the Indian Coast Guard and Australia's Maritime Border Command.

The talks matter because both countries have been building a broader strategic partnership while emphasising a free, open, peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The joint statement said they underscored freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as support for unimpeded trade and other lawful uses of the sea consistent with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That language places the cooperation within a wider regional security framework rather than a purely bilateral one.

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The meeting also fits into a longer pattern of closer India-Australia defence ties. The row says the relationship gained momentum after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia in 2014 and later produced agreements including the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement. The ministers also noted the importance of cooperation with regional partners, and India and Australia, as co-leads of the Indian Ocean Rim Association Working Group on Maritime Safety and Security, said they look forward to jointly hosting a search and rescue and tabletop exercise at Mariti.

What remains unclear from the available details is the timing and scope of the planned roadmap, as well as how quickly the maritime patrol aircraft cooperation and undersea domain work will be implemented. Marles also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday, and Jaishankar said they shared assessments on regional developments and the Indo-Pacific. The next developments to watch are whether the roadmap is finalised, whether the planned exercises go ahead, and whether the two governments announce any new operational commitments.

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