A report by Kim Heriot-Darragh, Research Fellow at the Australia India Institute, and Dr. Gaurav Saini, Co-Founder of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research (CSDR), outlines a roadmap for strengthening the Australia-India defence partnership over the next decade. The authors acknowledge the rapid expansion of bilateral defence ties, driven by strong prime ministerial support, but emphasize the need for a self-sustaining framework. They argue for shifting from high-level endorsements to routine, institutionalized cooperation, ensuring momentum is built from the ground up with greater involvement of working-level officers and institutions.
The report advocates a flexible approach to defence relations—one that maximizes opportunities for collaboration without binding commitments in every scenario. Key strategic objectives include improving interoperability, expanding mutual awareness and operational capacity, and coordinating regional security efforts across the Indian Ocean, Pacific, and Southeast Asia. To achieve these goals, the authors highlight six thematic priorities. First, they call for strengthening defence footprints, addressing imbalances in attaché staffing to improve institutional connectivity. Second, they emphasize the need to elevate ground-up initiatives, fostering working-level dialogues and exploratory war-gaming to develop operational synergy. Third, the report underscores the importance of enhancing mutual literacy, deepening the understanding of each country’s military culture and expanding staff college exchanges to build trust.
Additionally, the authors stress the need for reviewing engagements by refining existing frameworks and developing joint staff talks to streamline cooperation. They also advocate for rebalancing service cooperation, urging stronger ties beyond the naval domain to create a more comprehensive defence relationship. Finally, the report highlights the importance of advancing defence industry collaboration, particularly by supporting smaller Australian firms and clarifying intellectual property protections to encourage greater technological exchange.
By institutionalizing these measures, the report argues, the Australia-India defence partnership can transition from a largely leader-driven initiative to a resilient and structured relationship. With sustained engagement at multiple levels, both countries can enhance their strategic coordination and operational effectiveness in an evolving security environment.
