Our Bureau
Canberra
India and Australia are strengthening their maritime cooperation in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region, with a focus on combating marine pollution and promoting sustainable ocean management, as the 6th Australia-India Maritime Dialogue was held in Canberra recently.
The two countries are collaborating through the Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership (AIIPOIP), which aims to shape maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific to support an open, inclusive, resilient, prosperous and rules-based maritime order.
Under the AIIPOIP, Australia is the lead partner on the maritime ecology pillar, driving scientific collaboration and sharing best practices across the region on reducing marine pollution, particularly plastic waste.
The partnership also aligns with other bilateral arrangements between India and Australia, including the Maritime and 2+2 Dialogues, as well as their cooperation with ASEAN under its Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
The Indian Ocean is increasingly important for Australia’s maritime security, with the region home to lucrative offshore hydrocarbon reserves and a significant portion of the country’s sea-borne exports and naval fleet.
Australia has made recent efforts to deepen regional maritime security cooperation, focusing on challenges such as terrorism, illegal fishing, human trafficking at sea, and environmental threats like climate change and rising sea levels.
The two countries are engaging in diverse forms of regional dialogue and cooperation, including bilateral, trilateral, and multilateral arrangements. For instance, they have committed funds to enhance maritime security cooperation through the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) in areas such as maritime ecology and mitigating marine pollution.
India has become more active in disputes over the region, pursuing a robust maritime policy to protect its national interests. The country’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific is seen as a counterbalance to China’s expansionist policies and the “string of pearls” strategy aimed at curbing India’s influence.
The intensifying maritime cooperation between India and Australia is expected to have a significant impact on the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region, potentially shifting the balance of power in Southeast Asia.
