New Delhi: Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles on June 1, Monday said that India and Australia have “never been more strategically aligned” and in terms of defence ties are “at a high-water mark” during the bilateral talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ahead of the second India-Australia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue.
Speaking during the bilateral talks in the capital, Marles highlighted the growing institutionalisation of defence ties between Canberra and New Delhi, including the establishment of an annual Defence Ministers’ Dialogue. “Let me just say, it is indeed such a thrill and a pleasure to be back here in India and in New Delhi and to be here with you. I feel very honoured that with you and me, under our respective leadership of our defence establishments, we have elevated the defence relationship between Australia and India to one where we now have an annual Defence Ministers’ Dialogue”, he said.
This week we held the second annual Australia-India Defence Ministers’ Dialogue, where Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and I spoke about turning our deep strategic trust into practical defence cooperation. Peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific rely on us working closely with our… pic.twitter.com/zJlQUR4Msp
— Richard Marles (@RichardMarlesMP) June 1, 2026
Marles pointed to concrete outcomes emerging from the growing partnership, including a new information-sharing arrangement and expanded cooperation across defence domains. He said, “We did an information-sharing arrangement which we signed in October of last year at our inaugural Defence Ministers’ Dialogue. As one example, we’ve seen a whole lot of progress in relation to how that arrangement has been put into place”.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed the Annual India-Australia Defence Minister’s Dialogue and underlined how since its inception last year, ties between the two countries have deepened on the front of military engagements. Singh told the Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, “I am pleased to know that since the establishment of the annual Defence ministerial dialogue, we have witnessed an increase in our defence engagements with many promising milestones having been achieved since October 2025”.
Had an excellent meeting with Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mr. Richard Marles in New Delhi. Together we reviewed the full range of bilateral defence cooperation and discussed ways and means to enhance it further.
The India-Australia Defence Partnership… pic.twitter.com/tls1ErDR9R
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 1, 2026
Defence co-production, collaboration in military tech & catalysing maritime security
India and Australia announced that they would begin developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with regard to the provision of defence articles and services as the next step in deepening defence industrial collaborations. This marks a major step toward co-production and co-development of military hardware. The two sides also reviewed progress made since the inaugural dialogue held on October 9, 2025 and discussed ways to strengthen strategic and defence ties.
In a Joint Statement on the second India-Australia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue, the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to enhance bilateral cooperation and advance the long-term vision set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. They also welcomed progress towards renewing and strengthening the Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation.
“Ministers agreed to explore further exchanges, including through the Joint Working Group on Defence Industry, Research, and Material”, the statement added. One of the key outcomes of the meeting was the advancements in bilateral maritime security cooperation and efforts to finalise the Joint Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap. The two ministers agreed to progress the collaborative maritime domain awareness activities by maritime patrol aircraft and explore opportunities to enhance undersea domain awareness. Ministers encouraged further cooperation between the Indian Coast Guard and Australia’s Maritime Border Command.
The two Ministers affirmed the importance of enhancing cooperation with regional partners to help maintain a free, open, peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The two ministers underscored the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight and their strong support for unimpeded trade in the region and other lawful uses of the sea consistent with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh and Australian Deputy Prime Minister & Defence Minister Mr @RichardMarlesMP co-chaired the 2nd #IndiaAustralia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue in New Delhi on June 01, 2026. The Ministers reviewed progress in bilateral defence cooperation, advanced… pic.twitter.com/G4eFFEvksn
— Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) June 1, 2026
India and Australia, which jointly lead the Indian Ocean Rim Association’s Working Group on Maritime Safety and Security, will also host a Search and Rescue (SAR) and tabletop exercise at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Chennai in June 2026. The exercise is aimed at strengthening maritime safety and security cooperation across the Indian Ocean Region.
The two countries also looked forward to exploring future defence science and technology research cooperation in new technology areas like sensor technologies. Marles invited India to participate in the 2026 Australian Defence Science, Technology and Research Summit. They also undertook to explore arrangements to enhance procedural interoperability for exercises and operations, building on the 2020 Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement. “They also agreed to continue aircraft deployment from each other’s territories to build operational familiarity”, the joint statement added.
The statement noted how the Ministers welcomed the growing strategic convergence between Australia, India, Japan and the United States in the Indo-Pacific as they reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing collaboration on maritime domain awareness to increase interoperability among the partners. Ministers expressed strong support for the Quad Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration (IPMSC) initiative, to be implemented initially in the Indian Ocean Region as well as through subject matter expert exchanges and tabletop exercises.
“Ministers welcomed India’s operationalisation of the Indian Ocean Region program of the Quad Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) through the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram. Ministers agreed to work to develop a Common Operational Picture (COP) across the Indo-Pacific by drawing upon the existing IPMDA efforts”, the statement said.
Enhanced military exercises and revolutionising operational integration
The joint statement highlighted how the leaders welcomed the evolution of army Exercise Austrahind this year to focus on amphibious combat and littoral manoeuvre. Australia welcomed India’s inaugural participation in Operation Render Safe 2026. India welcomed Australia’s invitation for participation in submarine rescue exercise Black Carillon.
The joint statement noted that the Ministers appreciated the growing engagement between their armies, navies and air forces and looked forward to India’s enhanced participation in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2027. They welcomed Australia’s participation in India’s Exercise Milan in February 2026, and India’s participation in Australia’s Exercise Kakadu in March 2026.
“Ministers looked forward to their countries’ participation in each other’s multinational air exercises in 2026, including operationalising the bilateral Implementing Arrangement on Air-to-Air Refuelling at Exercise Pitch Black”, the statement added.
In the context of cooperation on training, Ministers encouraged their officials to finalise arrangements for deployment of an Indian visiting instructor at the Australian Defence College in 2028-2029, to strengthen professional military engagement, knowledge exchange and strategic alignment between India and Australia.
(With Inputs from ANI)
