In the issue brief titled Changing Geometries: The Rise of a Middle-Power Tech Triangle, published by the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Dr Jagannath Panda and Tristan Eng examine the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) Partnership announced at the 2025 G20 summit. They situate it within a structural shift from U.S.-led global integration to intensified great-power competition, where supply chains and technology are now “key instruments of power,” and middle powers face a choice between, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney put it at Davos 2026, “building their own fortresses” or adopting “variable geometry” through flexible coalitions.
ACITI focuses on three domains: critical minerals supply chains, green energy innovation, and artificial intelligence. Australia and Canada contribute resource endowments alongside policy frameworks, while India offers manufacturing scale, a growing technology market, and the ambition to act as a rule-shaper. The partnership “does not position itself as a bloc or an alliance,” nor is it directed against major powers. China’s dominance in rare earths and U.S. leadership in semiconductors and digital infrastructure remain structurally entrenched. ACITI instead operates as a “buffer against great-power manipulation,” enabling diversification without severing existing ties.
The authors frame ACITI as a form of “strategic minilateral,” cutting across trade, technology, environment, and security rather than being siloed. It is also trans-oceanic in scope, linking partners across regions. Institutionally, it is “likely to operate as a flexible coordinating platform” built on existing bilateral arrangements rather than as a formal organization, which leaves it vulnerable to political frictions, particularly in India-Canada relations.
The central risk lies in execution. The partnership’s breadth may render it “an aspirational agreement” unless priorities are narrowed. The authors argue that ACITI dialogues “must be used wisely to narrow priorities and establish clear deliverables,” including a limited set of flagship projects and alignment with existing initiatives. Ultimately, ACITI is a “test case” for whether such coalitions can produce outcomes. Its deeper significance lies in demonstrating that strategic autonomy today is built through “trusted interdependence rather than isolation.”