“The rallies against migration … were not specifically anti any country. They were not specifically anti India,” said Gopal Baglay, India’s high commissioner to Australia during an interview on The Gist.
“A particular political comment linking Indian diaspora to a particular type of political proclivity, that and anti-India overtone to the whole discourse about migration and anti migration … after that, it appeared as if the whole thing is against India.”
He confirmed that across the political spectrum, leaders had denounced the tone and tenor of some of the rallies.
“You would have seen the the statements by the prime minister, by the foreign minister, by the leader of opposition, and they have recently attended community events like the Deepavali organized in Sydney.”
He said the Australian public at large welcomed migrants because “Australia is built like that”, and whatever concerns the Indian diaspora may have, are being shared with the authorities.
On Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s first visit to Canberra recently, Ambassador Baglay pointed to convergences, “convergence of of a shared values, convergence of a very strategic objectives, the way we look at the world as two diverse democracies which believe in a rule based international order, which believe in free and open Indo-Pacific.”
“There are multiple exercises, bilateral and multilateral. The objective of all this is to, is twofold interoperability and to leverage the synergies, available for us in each other’s capabilities in each of those regions. We had offered, Australia, for example, MRO facilities for their ships, which are deployed into Indian Ocean.”
An MoU was signed on submarine rescue, another on air to air refuelling with both sides stepping up participation in joint exercises, from Talisman Sabre and Pitch Black to drills in India with the aim of building interoperability and enhance trust.
He said there was convergence on the Quad, on the need for both sides to work together to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific and a rules-based order.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Gopal Baglay,India’s high commissioner to Australia.
Thirty eight years in journalism, widely travelled, history buff with a preference for Old Monk Rum. Current interest/focus spans China, Technology and Trade. Recent reads: Steven Colls Directorate S and Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon. Netflix/Prime video junkie. Loves animal videos on Facebook. Reluctant tweeter.
