By Admiral R. K. Dhowan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM (Retd), Chairman, Society for Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Studies (SAMDeS),
India and Australia today stand as two vibrant maritime democracies at the heart of the Indo-Pacific. Bound by shared values, democratic governance, and converging strategic interests, both nations have gradually expanded their cooperation across the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean. This partnership has evolved from a political understanding to a comprehensive strategic relationship with far-reaching implications for regional stability, maritime security, and defence industrial growth.
As the two countries mark the fifth anniversary of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the relationship stands at an inflection point. The foundations of strategic dialogue, political will, and defence cooperation are in place. The next step must focus on translating these conceptual convergences into capacity building and capability enhancement through industry partnerships, technological collaboration, and multi-domain cooperation.
Over the past decade, the India–Australia relationship has transformed remarkably, from limited bilateral interactions to a multi-layered partnership anchored in common regional objectives. The institutionalisation of annual Prime Ministerial summits, the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, and regular meetings between the Foreign and Defence Ministers have created a sustained framework for strategic coordination.
This evolution reflects not only a recognition of shared challenges but also a conscious decision by both nations to anchor their cooperation within the broader Indo-Pacific construct. Together, India and Australia contribute to maintaining a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based regional order, ensuring that the Indo-Pacific remains a region defined by stability, transparency, and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
The operational dimension of the bilateral partnership has witnessed significant progress. Joint and multilateral exercises such as AUSINDEX, MALABAR, MILAN, RIMPAC, TALISMAN SABRE, and PITCH BLACK have deepened tactical familiarity and interoperability between the armed forces of both nations.
These exercises are not merely symbolic gestures of friendship; they represent the practical architecture of cooperation testing interoperability, standardising communication procedures, and aligning doctrines of maritime domain awareness, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief (HADR).
Moreover, agreements such as the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement (MLSA) and the Air-to-Air Refuelling Pact have institutionalised a strong framework for logistics coordination, enabling reciprocal access to bases, fuel, and supplies during operations and exercises. This interoperability serves as a critical enabler for joint missions ranging from humanitarian relief to anti-piracy operations across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
While defence dialogues and exercises provide the backbone of the strategic partnership, the next phase must focus on defence industrial collaboration. Industry is the bridge between strategic intent and operational capability. It transforms shared objectives into tangible outcomes platforms, systems, and technologies that reinforce national security.
Indian Navy’s transformation from a “Buyer’s Navy” to a “Builder’s Navy” is a case in point. Under the Make in India initiative, the Warship Design Bureau of the Indian Navy has designed and indigenous shipyards have demonstrated the ability to construct complex platforms, ranging from aircraft carrier, frigates and destroyers to nuclear and conventional submarines. Today, over fifty-four ships and submarines are under construction in Indian shipyards both public and private, reflecting a self-reliant defence industrial base that continues to grow in sophistication.
Australia’s defence industrial ecosystem offers complementary strengths. Supported by over 3,000 MSMEs, the Australian defence industry represents a highly skilled, technology-driven manufacturing base capable of contributing to propulsion systems, auxiliary machinery, and high-precision components. Collaboration between Indian and Australian industries can, therefore, create mutually beneficial synergies accelerating co-development, enhancing skill transfer, and reinforcing both nations’ capacities for indigenous production.
The warship building and repair sector provides an immediate and promising domain for joint ventures. Co-production, maintenance, and mid-life upgrades could be jointly pursued through technology sharing, with the potential to support both navies’ blue-water ambitions while contributing to regional shipbuilding supply chains.
A forward-looking roadmap for India–Australia defence cooperation must adopt a whole-of-nation approach. This should integrate perspectives and policy inputs from multiple stakeholders—including the Ministries of Defence, Departments of Defence Production and Acquisition, the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) in Australia, and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Such integration will ensure that cooperation is not limited to maritime security alone but extends to multi-domains such as land, sea, air, cyber, and space. Areas like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, quantum communication, and undersea domain awareness will define the future character of defence cooperation.
In particular, undersea surveillance, protection of submarine cables, and maritime hydrography have emerged as future avenues for maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Joint research, data-sharing, and technological development in these areas will enhance both nations’ capacity for maritime situational awareness and crisis response.
To transform cooperation from a governmental partnership into a sustainable economic and strategic relationship, industrial linkages must be consolidated at every level. Collaboration between MSMEs, start-ups, and research institutions in both countries can generate innovation-led growth in defence manufacturing and design.
Such linkages not only support indigenous capability development but also reinforce broader economic objectives like creating jobs, promoting innovation, and ensuring supply chain resilience. These collaborations can be facilitated through defence corridors, innovation hubs, and joint incubators under the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Australian Defence Export Strategy frameworks.
Furthermore, there is potential to jointly explore opportunities in the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO)segment, particularly for warships, submarines, and maritime patrol aircraft such as India’s P-8I and Australia’s P-8A Poseidon fleets. Joint MRO capabilities would improve cost efficiency and create a model for shared logistics infrastructure across the Indian Ocean Region.
To elevate the partnership to the next level, India and Australia must jointly formulate a comprehensive defence cooperation roadmap, a document that integrates political intent, industrial capacity, and requirement of the armed forces. This comprehensive roadmap should be outcome of deliberations and discussions between ‘the triad’, the Government, the Armed forces and the Industry in both countries. Such a roadmap should outline priority sectors for collaboration, mechanisms for technology transfer, and frameworks for co-development and co-production.
Importantly, this roadmap should align military cooperation with economic prosperity and capability enhancement, reflecting a shared understanding that security and growth are mutually reinforcing. By fostering industrial collaboration, both nations can contribute to a secure and economically resilient Indo-Pacific, ensuring that the region’s future remains stable, open, and inclusive.
The India–Australia partnership today is more than a bilateral engagement, it is a pillar of the emerging Indo-Pacific architecture. Its trajectory reflects a maturation of shared strategic consciousness, mutual trust, and the recognition that capability not rhetoric defines credibility.
By aligning political will with industrial collaboration and technological innovation, India and Australia can move decisively from strategic convergence to strategic co-production. The maritime domain, underpinned by industrial and research linkages, offers an ‘ocean of opportunities’ for cooperation.
The journey from concept to capability is not merely a strategic necessity, it is a shared responsibility. In doing so, both nations can contribute not only to their own security and prosperity but to the collective stability of the Indo-Pacific region.