Strategically, there is a “panda in the room”, in the sense that one of the reasons Australia, Japan, India and the U.S. have come close together during COVID is that the pandemic has “accentuated” some of the negative trends that exist in the world, said Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell on Monday. Australia and India have accepted a “shared responsibility” to ensure a peaceful, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific, he said.
On the trade agreement signed on Saturday, he said both countries “remain committed” to working towards a full Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.
Speaking at an event organised by the Australia India Institute on ‘The rise and rise of Australia-India relations', Mr. O’Farrell said India had faced problems and Australia had faced economic coercion. “We are facing a new challenge in the Pacific. Those issues are not going to go away overnight... And there’s no doubt the implications of the invasion of Ukraine will reverberate in our region for some time."
“We are – by our very design – stewards of one of the world’s greatest maritime resources. Our geography places us squarely in the middle of the world’s strategic centre of gravity. And as the international system becomes more multi-polar, the region’s resilience will be tested,” Mr. O’Farrell said.
Stand on Ukraine
Stating that current events in Europe serve to remind us of the “profound strategic challenges and disruption” the world is facing, he said the order that has supported peace and prosperity over decades is being challenged.
To questions on India’s stand with respect to the Russian war in Ukraine, Mr. O’Farrell said the Quad grouping acknowledged that each country had a position on Ukraine. Friends could have “difference of opinion” and Australia “understands” India’s position, he said.
On Russia’s presence at the upcoming G20 summit which has been opposed by the West, Mr. O’Farrell that would be resolved by the G20 themselves.
On the deepening defence cooperation between the two countries, the Australian envoy said joint defence activities were seeing a “near four-fold increase” since 2014. In 2020, the two sides concluded a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, which he said allowed “more interoperability requiring the kind of trust only shared between the closest of defence partners”.
So far this year, the Australia Chiefs of Navy and Army had visited India, which would be followed later this month by Australia’s Chief of Defence Force and Defence Secretary.
Trade agreement
Talking of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement signed over the weekend, Mr. O’Farrell said the June 2020 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership also committed both countries to re-engaging on achieving a Closer Economic Cooperation Agreement, but the last attempt stalled in 2015. It had now been agreed and signed.
“The trade agreement between India and Australia gives us an opportunity to properly harness the complementary nature of our economies in areas such as critical minerals, professional services, education and tourism,” he stated.
Under the agreement, he said Indian consumers and businesses would benefit from the immediate elimination of tariffs on 85% of Australian goods exports to India, while Australian consumers would benefit from almost 96% of Indian goods imports entering Australia duty free.
To a question on Chinese companies owning majority of critical mineral mines in Australia, the envoy said that was not the case. Soon there would be a visit from Indian Government, along with the organisation Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL), a joint venture company set up to acquire critical and strategic mineral assets overseas, to explore investments in Australia.
The two countries recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding for carrying out joint due diligence of select greenfield and brownfield projects to identify Lithium and Cobalt mineral assets for joint investment and acquisition of the assets in Australia catering to the critical and strategic ecosystem of both the countries.
