Australia: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday in Melbourne that defence and security are key pillars of the India-Australia alliance, as he met with Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton ahead of a crucial meeting of Quad foreign ministers.
Jaishankar is visiting Australia for the first time as External Affairs Minister. In addition to attending the Quad meeting, he will co-chair the 12th India-Australia Foreign Ministers' Framework Dialogue with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne on February 12.
"I began the day by meeting with Peter Dutton MP, the Minister of Defence. In a tweet, he stated, "We followed up on the 2+2 discussions last year." "Defense and security are critical foundations of India-Australia cooperation," he said. Last year, Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton in New Delhi for the first time.
The talks aimed to increase their entire defence and strategic cooperation, notably in the Indo-Pacific, in the face of China's growing military aggression in the region. The foreign and defence ministerial discussions came as the Quad member countries redoubled their efforts to strengthen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad also includes the United States and Japan, in addition to India and Australia. In the recent few years, India and Australia have increased their defence and military cooperation.
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