China is trying to shape the world around it in a way “we haven’t seen before,” he says. Australia views India as “central” to its “worldview,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Secretary Richard Marles. Declaring that China was trying to shape the world around it in a way “we’ve never seen before,” he said Australia and India had a shared goal ofprotectingt the global rules-based order. China is our largest trading partne for Australiar, which also applies to India. For Australia, China is our top security concern, and so is India,” Mr. Marles told a select group of journalists on Thursday before concluding his visit to India.
In response to questions about China, he said it was trying to shape the world around it in a way that “we haven’t seen before and that has evolved over the past decade. Especially in the last few years, we’ve seen more assertive Chinese behavior.” regarding that”, he said, stating that it was seen with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and in the South China Sea (SCS). “We have seen that regarding the LAC and the incident that happened a few years ago where there was atrocious behavior towards Indian soldiers, and we stand in solidarity with India regarding that incident,” he said. “We experience that for us in the South China Sea.”
Hee sai that, when Australia looked at what was happening at the LAC, it saw a country trying to resolve its differences not against a set of rules but with might and force. “That’s a concern,” he said. Also, in the SCS, “we are seeing greater assertiveness on the part of China,” he said, pointing to the creation of artificial islands and China’s assertion of sovereignty that violated the United Nations Convention on the Protection of Human Rights.Rightt of the sea (UNCLOS). † “When we look at Chinese behavior, be it LAC or SCS, we see assertive behavior that seeks to challenge the established rules-based order that has been so important to the region’s prosperity,” noted .Mr. Marlesemphasizedg that it was really important that “we live in a world with a rules-based order” where disputes were resolved peacefully against a set of rule, said Mr. Marles: “That’s where Australia and India have a shared goal of creating that global rules-based order.”
Shared Values
Speaking of shared values between India and Australia, the Deputy Prime Minister said both were democracies, the rule of law applied in their countries and tried to build and respect a global rules-based order. “We also share geography, and Australia is a country in the Indian Ocean. In that respect, all roads lead to India,” he said.
There has probably never been a point in the respective histories of the two countries where “we align more strategically,” he stressed. In this regard, he said that the Indian-Australian community was the largest growing community there and that it would change the face of Australia for the better. He added more lightly to the shared passion for cricket: “The Indian-Australian community represents the best long-term perspective we have to continue winning test matches against India.”
Defense and security cooperation between the two countries has expanded significantly in recent years. Tr. Marles said they wanted a greater activity frequency in operations and exercises. “We want to see greater frequency and complexity to increase interoperability,” he said.
Exercise Pitch Black
In this regard, he said the Indian Air Force would participate in Exercise Pitch Black, organized by Australia in August. Speaking at the National Defense College on Wednesday, Mr . Marles said of advancing defense cooperation: “As we continue to lift our cooperation on defense and security, exploring longer-term mutual access arrangements is the logical next step.”
Speaking of the Quad, the Deputy Prime Minister said it was not a security alliance and that defense and security were not part of it. Likewise, the trilateral AUKUS initiative between Australia, the US, and the UK was not a security alliance. “It’s technology sharing between Australia, the US, and the UK. It’s about technology transfer,” he said, stressing that Australia must have a long-range submarine. On the war in Ukraine, Mr . Marles reiterated that India’s position towards Ukraine was a matter for India.
