India is a top-tier security partner for Australia, stated its new National Defence Strategy (NDS) 2024 released last week and through the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Australia and India, the government is continuing to prioritise practical and tangible cooperation that directly contributes to Indo-Pacific stability.
“Australia will continue to support India’s key role in the region by increasing the depth and complexity of our defence cooperation. The government will continue to seek opportunities with India to drive practical bilateral and multilateral cooperation, defence industry cooperation and information sharing,” the NDS released on April 17 said.
The 2024 Integrated Investment Programme (IIP) was also released which sets out the specific defence capabilities Australia will invest in to give effect to the NDS. As per this, the Albanese government has allocated $330 billion for the IIP over the decade to 2033-34. Adding other commitments announced, the defence funding as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product is projected to rise to around 2.4% by 2033-34 — up to 0.3% higher than the spending trajectory set by the former government, a statement from the Australian government said.
