INDIA-AUSTRALIA RELATIONS

ANCHORING THE QUAD AND NAVIGATING THE MULTIPOLAR WORLD

- Aditya Kumar, Dr Ambikesh Kumar Tripathi

Introduction

India-Australia relations have evolved significantly over the years, marked by historical milestones and shifting geopolitical dynamics. The colonial era laid the foundation for interactions between the two nations, as both were part of the British Empire. Postindependence, both nations' paths diverged, with India gaining freedom in 1947 and Australia following suit in 1949 and in the Cold War period, the bilateral relations have been deteriorating because of India's nonalignment stance and Australia's engagement with Western powers. Although, tensions arose over issues like nuclear policies and regional conflicts after the end of the Cold War; the decade of ninety has marked a renewed relations focus on cooperation in several areas like trade, terrorism, democratic reforms, maritime security etc followed by India's economic reforms. Apart from trade relations, both nations have strong people-to-people bonds due to Cricket. Australia, as India's extended neighbour, attracts a relatively high number of Indian students. A huge number of Indian diaspora lives in Australia. In November 2009, during Prime Minister Rudd's visit to India, the two countries decided to elevate their relationship to the level of a strategic partnership.

India and Australia cooperate in several multilateral forums. Australia supports India's candidature for an expanded UN Security Council. Both India and Australia are members of the G20, Commonwealth of Nations, IOR-ARC, ASEAN Regional Forum, and Asia-Pacific Partnership for Climate and Clean Development and have participated in East Asian summits. Both countries also cooperated as members of the Five Interested Parties (FIP) within the WTO. Australia is a major player in APEC and supports India's membership in the organization. In 2008, it became an observer in SAARC.