Doorstop, New Delhi

SUBJECTS: Australia-India Defence Cooperation; Quad; AUKUS. 

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, welcome everyone. Today we’ve held the second India‑Australia Defence Dialogue, following on from the inaugural dialogue which occurred in October of last year in Canberra with my counterpart, Rajnath Singh, the Indian Minister for Defence. We have both been very honoured to be a part of elevating the defence relationship in the broader bilateral relationship between Australia and India to one where we now have an annual defence dialogue, and we're seeing that it is making a real difference in just six months. Last October, we talked about establishing an information sharing agreement and we've now seen really significant cooperation from our respective defence intelligence organisations over the last six months. We spoke six months ago about doing joint air‑to‑air refuelling, we are very much down the path of seeing that happen. We have, as two defence forces, never exercised and trained more together than we are right now. Last year in Exercise Talisman Sabre we had the Indian Army, amongst other parts of the Indian Defence Force, participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre for the first time. Earlier this year in Exercise Kakadu, which is our major maritime exercise, we had the INS Nilgiri, an Indian frigate, participate in that exercise. And later next month we will see a detachment of Rafales from the Indian Air Force participating in Exercise Pitch Black – and that is literally the tip of the iceberg. We are training and exercising together across all three services, in fact beyond that as well, and we are doing so in each other's countries. Now we're really mindful that as we met today, we did so effectively on the eve of the visit by Prime Minister Modi to Australia to participate in this year's Annual Leaders’ Summit with Prime Minister Albanese. And we know that defence will be a key part of the discussions that our prime ministers undertake, because in their previous summits defence has been very central. And indeed they have directed us as defence ministers to work significantly in respect of the defence relationship. And so, to that end, we are really pleased that we are near the finalisation of a renewal and strengthening of the Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation, and there has been significant progress on the Joint Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap. And both of those are really important in the context of the upcoming prime ministerial summit. We are living in a world where we are seeing enormous challenges, where there is great uncertainty, where from an Australian perspective we see significant strategic complexity. In all of that, I cannot overstate how much, from an Australian point of view, we value our defence relationship with India. It is going from strength to strength. What both Minister Singh and myself were able to attest to today is that we are at a high water mark in terms of Australia and India defence corporation.

JOURNALIST: Minister, the joint statement very clearly mentioned the interest of both the countries to expand collaboration in the underwater domain, so would you like to just expand on that?

MARLES: Well, I think we see that maritime cooperation is fundamentally important, and I mentioned the roadmap, and there's been significant progress on that. That very much includes cooperation in respect of underwater activity, and that is in a context where increasingly we are seeing more grey zone activity in respect of a whole lot of seabed infrastructure around the world, and how that is critically important. And we have seen the rules-based order when it comes to the maritime domain expressed in terms of seaborne trade, and there's no doubt that that is critically important. Freedom of navigation, sea lanes, are absolutely important. But it's really also the case now that the rules of the road need to not only apply at the surface of the sea, it also needs to apply on the seabed, and that heightens the need for us to be cooperating, and that requires advances in innovative technologies, and were keen to be working with India on all of that.

JOURNALIST: Minister, two quick questions. One, you mentioned some of the outcomes that you're looking at for the Prime Minister's visit, and I was wondering if you could expand on that? Are there any other big ticket outcomes that you're looking at? And number two, your Japanese counterpart yesterday said that he'd like to have a Quad defence ministers’ meeting. I was wondering what your views are on that?

MARLES: Well, in respect to the first part of the question, both of us, as in Minister Singh and myself, are really aware that defence will play big in terms of the prime ministers’ meeting coming up shortly. That has been the case of previous meetings of our prime ministers and we've been given a lot of work to do by our respective prime ministers, which is great. And so both in terms of the Joint Declaration on Defence and Security, but also the Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap, these are– we're working on all those, but they are really big steps that we're taking in terms of elevating the defence component of the relationship. And I think if you take a step back and look at the broader relationship for a moment, there is a growing economic relationship between our two countries, there is more and more people to people links as we have a really growing Indian diaspora in Australia, who are making such a wonderful contribution to our nation. Obviously, we've got historic cultural connections, not least of which is cricket, and that's been a significant part. But what we're really seeing now is a strategic and defence dimension being brought to the bilateral relationship, and that's really the focus of the conversations that we were having today, and ensuring that we are fulfilling what our prime ministers have asked of us so that they are completely ready for their meeting, which will happen shortly. In respect of the second part of your question, I'm aware of the comments of Minister Koizumi. I mean, a few things to say. Firstly, we've just seen a very successful meeting of foreign ministers of the Quad here in India last week. As part of that, they announced the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Collaboration, which in turn was, I think, a really significant step forward in terms of the activities of the Quad. When it comes to defence, we do speak to each other a lot. I mean, literally, in the last 48 hours I have met face to face with Secretary Hegseth, Minister Koizumi and Minister Singh. So we are all talking with each other all the time. And it would be right to say that when, from an Australian perspective, we look at our defence relationship with each of the three countries – the United States, Japan and India – it is, in defence terms, at a high water mark. And that's a big thing to say, but it's the truth. And so we continue to work very closely with the US, with Japan and with India when it comes to defence.

JOURNALIST: Minister, I have two questions. One, you spoke about the maritime plan. Does this maritime plan include some kind of basing of ships or assets in each other's countries? Part one of the question. Second question, India has a big ‘Make in India’ program. When you repeatedly say that defence will be big in the prime ministers’ meeting, forthcoming meeting, will India's aspirations of ‘Make in India’ be addressed by Australia? If yes, in what manner? 

MARLES: Was the first part whether we’d be accessing each other’s ports?

JOURNALIST: Yeah. That you already have under the mutual logistics agreement, but basing or permanent basing or a turn-around facility? 

MARLES: I see what you’re saying. Look, I think we're doing much more in the maritime domain. I don't think we're at that point. But we are doing much more cooperation and obviously, as I’ve said, we've had INS Nilgiri in Australia now, or recently, and it spent significant time there and we've had our own ships over here. So being able to access each other's ports is really important. In respect of the second part of the question, which was really going to defence industry, and I'm glad you raised it. Defence industry is absolutely a key part of the conversation that we had today, and that's in the statement that we put out. We think that there's been really significant progress in respect of defence industry in relation to our two countries. Minister Singh held a defence industry roundtable in Sydney when he was in Australia in October last year. Around that time we also had a defence industry trade delegation come here to India. From, I think it's fair to say, a low base, we are looking at a range of options to increase cooperation and integration of our respective supply chains and actually we come out of today's meeting, I think, with a much greater sense of optimism about what we can do, and that does see benefits for both of our countries. It sees benefits in terms of Australian industry being able to supply here, but it very much sees benefits in terms of utilising the Indian supply chain, using Indian defence industry to help contribute to our capability as well.

JOURNALIST: Can I ask a follow-up? It's a non India‑Australia question. It's about AUKUS, because AUKUS recently announced a new submarine for AUKUS, and you will be taking the nuclear-powered submarines with your partners – Americans and the British. When are these submarines coming? That is already published. What is the use Australia intends to do with these? Are you going to increase your submarine force? What is your plan? 

MARLES: Again, I appreciate that question. I mean, we're a three ocean nation. At a cursory glance of the map you realise how important long‑range capable submarines are for Australia. Today, our Collins class submarines are as important a military platform as we possess. And so in answering what our submarines are for, it really goes to the very heart of why we have a defence force and what it's for. What we seek to do in the building up of all our military capability, and very much in respect of what we are doing in turn – having a much more capable submarine through a nuclear-powered submarine – is firstly to give pause for thought for any adversary that might seek to coerce Australia. But secondly and importantly, to provide our contribution to the collective security of the region in which we live. And when we say that, we very much mean the northeast Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. What we are doing in terms of building this capability is to provide for the peace and security of this region, and it is about putting in place a balance of deterrence which maintains the peace. Now, in terms of– we see ourselves working very closely with India in respect of how we operate all of our maritime assets, which is why maritime security collaboration is such a feature of the way in which we are describing specifically the defence relationship between our two countries.

JOURNALIST: So, how do India and Australia view their role in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region?

MARLES: Well, probably a similar answer to that question. I mean, we share an ocean with India and we see India as our primary partner in terms of maintaining peace and security within the Indian Ocean region, but critically, asserting the rules-based order, freedom of navigation. But also as we are, in answer to the previous question, ensuring that those rules also apply to the seabed. That we live in a region and a world where peace and stability exists, but where the rules are determining the behaviours of nations, and we see our principal partner in terms of working on all of that within the Indian Ocean, as being India. And in that sense, we're neighbours. That we share an ocean really is the demonstration of the fact that we are two countries who really are side by side. We share values with India, we share strategic alignment with India, and all of that is underpinned by complete trust. And so we are doing more with India in terms of maritime security collaboration in the Indian Ocean than any other country, and that is why it is a key component of the broader defence relationship, which in turn is looming larger in the overall bilateral relationship between our two countries. 

ENDS