An insight into the emerging camaraderie between the former British colonies of India and Australia
Shared legacy of imperialism
Like two rivers rising from the same glacier yet flowing divergently in the quest to find their own ways to the ocean, India & Australia are bound together by a shared history of imperialist culture yet divergent by the nature of their newly evolved cultures. Since the same country, Britain, was the source of imperial power in these two enormous countries, showing/sharing similar trends in cultures and perspectives on development is no surprise.
While one very significantly glaring feature is the ever popular English sport - Cricket, where both of these countries boast of a crowd that could go crazy for this “gentleman’s game”, another crucial factor bringing these countries together is English, the language, itself. English, being the official language of Australia and one of the official languages of the Government of India, is spoken/written/learnt by a good number of people in both of these countries. A cult of imperialism has, thus, very strategically nurtured a population of English language and literature enthusiasts.
Both of these countries also share political ideologies, believing strongly in the concepts of democracy & freedom. India and Australia have also shown significant involvement and concern for international peace & development like Australia has played a significant role in “fighting against terrorism” especially in countries like Afghanistan whereas India is an active participant in the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions, especially in African countries like Angola, Somalia, Congo, etc.
Emerging Partners in Maritime Diplomacy
In 2009, Prime Minister Rudd told an audience in New Delhi that India and Australia were “natural partners” and should become “strategic partners”. And, the Indian Ocean serves as a zone of strategic convergence because many analysts see the strategic interests of Australia and India as “essentially congruent” and thus foresee the scope of enhancing co-operation in the maritime realm which includes maritime policing (piracy and maritime terrorism, illegal fishing and people trafficking, for example) and Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HADR), anti-terrorism, local capacity-building and maritime domain awareness. There is also the potential for co-operation elsewhere, for example, among the Indian Ocean islands. Both the nations have also been co-operating in trying to resuscitate the Indian Ocean Rim Association (formerly known as IOR-ARC).
The extent to which Canberra regards cooperation with New Delhi as critical for regional maritime security is clear from Australia’s 2013 Defence White Paper, which prioritizes relations with India and Indonesia. Interestingly, only a few months after the release of the White Paper, Australia released a Country Strategy Document on India that identified the Indian Navy as possessing the most potential for a close maritime partnership.
Also, India might benefit from Australia’s imaginativeness in nurturing its Indian Ocean ties like in its partnership with Seychelles and Mauritius in a “blue economy” project in the Indian Ocean, where Australia plans for greater hydrocarbon exploration and using improved technology to harvest renewable energy from the ocean’s waves.
Prospective Joint Internet Governance Dialogue
The Scorpene data leak came as a high voltage shock for the Indian navy. Already suffering from a severe shortage of submarines to protect its littoral-seas, the navy will now have to deal with allegations stressing that the security of the country has been badly compromised. In a damning disclosure, The Australian reported that it had seen crucial files that revealed critical data about India’s Scorpene program, with equipment and operational specifications outlined in such minute detail that India’s future submarine operations could be severely jeopardized.
While the security and strategic interests of India have been imperiled, another point to consider here is that the real target may/may not have been India “only”. The Diplomat said in a report that “Australia’s recent award of its submarine contract to DCNS has created severe heartburn in Japan and Germany, where competing firms had been vying for Canberra’s $50 billion contract of the replacement for the Collins class submarine. It isn’t surprising that the nature of the leak seems intended at discrediting the French company.”
Thus the India-Australia Cyber Policy Dialogue that started back in 2015 becomes crucial. The two sides, in 2015, discussed the full range of cyber issues exchanging cyber threat perceptions, policies and strategies, agency roles and responsibilities, key domestic developments including Digital India and Australia’s Cyber Security Review, the development of international norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, regional developments, the multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance and cyber crime. The two sides also identified opportunities to work together to exchange information on cybercrime and on law enforcement measures. The delegations agreed that further dialogue would be fruitful to deliberate on the application of international law to cyberspace and on the role of different stakeholders in supporting the multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance.
Uranium to Unify
Just a few months after the election season in India was over, came the news that Australia had sealed a civil nuclear deal to sell uranium to India and had also offered to increase supplies of conventional fuel to help it overcome chronic shortages. The significant part of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement was that Australia agreed to become ‘a long-term reliable supplier of uranium to India’. India is the first customer to buy Australian uranium without being a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Right now, Australia is considered to have the largest reserve of recoverable uranium. World Nuclear Association and Australian government say that Australia ranks third, after Kazakhstan and Canada, in terms of production of uranium. Australia produces uranium basically to export as it does not operate nuclear power plants. So, Australia may become the most important uranium supplier to the energy-starved India which would need Uranium for its nuclear energy expansion. This might, in fact, be the start of a long-term friendship and unity.
The “more than technical” diplomatic relation
India has always been in an unpleasant situation with its neighbors when it comes to the demarcation of border and the distribution of territories. A similarly controversial territory is that of the present-day Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Australia has traditionally supported India's position on Arunachal Pradesh, which is subject to diplomatic disputes between India and the People's Republic of China. "We always supported the Indian position (on Arunachal) and there is no change of our stand," said Peter Verghese, the Australian High Commissioner to India, in 2011. This shows how the diplomatic relations between Australia and India aren’t just technical but are also knit neatly with the yarns of amity.
So, in this tensed situation of the recent Indo-Pak ‘war of words’ at the UN, the implication of which seems to dawn upon the Indus Water Treaty anytime soon in the near future, the blossoming friendship between the peninsular country of India and the island nation of Australia is a thing to be nurtured and cherished if peace is a condition desired in the Asia-Pacific region.