NEW DELHI: On #TalkingPoint, High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell, Australia’s Envoy to India in conversation with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi.
After the change in government in Australia, High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell points out there “couldn’t have been a better first visit to India than that of Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles with the message that Australia continues to be a steadfast and ambitious partner with India, not just bilaterally, but, of course across the Indo-Pacific”.
“Australia’s relationship with China is clearly troubled and we have been concerned about Chinese tactics, the Envoy acknowledges, “that’s what we’re(Australia and India) both grappling with. It’s also what other countries in the region are dealing with. We have stood beside and stood up for India from the time of the 2020 Galwan Valley incident” he adds, saying “through the Quad, we’re working practically to deliver constructive outcomes.”
Watch this interview for more on the outcomes from Deputy PM Marles’ visit, the Quad, AUKUS, defence cooperation, the revival of the joint working group on defence research and materiel cooperation, the defence logistics agreement and what’s next, whether India can be a source for defence purchases, cyber, critical and emerging technologies, dealing with security challenges in the Indo Pacific, China’s attempts at inroads into the Pacific Island Countries (PICs), the new Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) alliance to counter Beijing’s push in the PICs and whether India can play a role, uranium supplies from Australia, the Economic Cooperation And Trade Agreement (INDAUS ECTA) and the next steps as the new government takes it up, the momentum towards a full-fledged Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and of course cricket.
