External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne on Thursday reviewed developments in the Indo-Pacific region and discussed the situation in Myanmar following the military coup. In a telephonic conversation, the two foreign ministers also discussed ways to make coronavirus vaccines accessible and affordable. “Good as always to talk to FM @MarisePayne. Discussed developments in the Indo-Pacific. Exchanged views on the situation in Myanmar. Also on making vaccines accessible & affordable. And a bit of cricket,” Jaishankar tweeted.
Last week, Myanmar’s military grabbed power in a coup against the civilian government. On her part, Payne said Australia and India will work “more closely” than ever on their shared objectives in the Indo-Pacific, she said on Twitter.
“Today @DrSJaishankar and I discussed the situation in Myanmar, equitable & safe access to vaccines and taking forward our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” she said. The defence and security ties between India and Australia have been on an upswing in the last few years.
During an online summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison in June last, India and Australia elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistic support. The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows militaries of the two countries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation. The Australian Navy was part of the Malabar naval exercise hosted by India in November. The navies of the US and Japan were also part of it.
India and Australia have been boosting cooperation bilaterally as well as under the framework of Quad with an aim to ensure peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad, comprising India, the US, Australia and Japan, is aimed at ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. The Malabar exercise was largely seen as a prelude to future military cooperation among the Quad member nations.
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