India, Australia and Indonesia will hold two virtual meetings of their defense and foreign ministers to strengthen regional cooperation and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, people familiar with the events said on Wednesday.
The meetings will be held in the context of China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the region, ranging from the border clash with India to territorial claims in the South China Sea backed by the concentration of military assets.
The meetings have been in the works for some time and the videoconference of Foreign Ministers S Jaishankar, Marise Payne of Australia and Retno Marsudi of Indonesia is expected later this month, and will be followed by the defense ministers meeting. , the people named above said on condition of anonymity.
“This is a fast-moving trilateral and the defense and foreign ministers are expected to meet in the coming months. All three countries have a shared interest in an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, ”said one of the people.
The foreign ministers will focus on working collaboratively to strengthen regional institutions such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), which includes ASEAN states and their dialogue partners, and the Indian Ocean Basin Association (IORA ) of 22 members, the people said.
Defense ministers will focus on maritime security cooperation in their subsequent meeting, the people added.
Officials working on the initiative have coined the term “minilateral” to describe the union of the three countries.
“With the world’s largest democracy, India, the oldest democracy in Asia, Australia, and the largest Muslim-majority democracy in the form of Indonesia, we believe this could be one of the most important minilaterals in the region,” he said. the person named above.
Final times for the meetings have yet to close, but Indonesian Foreign Minister Marsudi tweeted last week that she had discussed the upcoming trilateral meeting with her Australian counterpart Payne during a phone call on Aug. 26.
Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto’s visit to New Delhi in late July provided an opportunity for the two sides to discuss expanding security cooperation and China’s activities in the region, the people said.
Subianto was one of the few foreign leaders to visit India amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The possible sale of the BrahMos cruise missile to Indonesia had figured in the talks. A statement issued by the Indian Defense Ministry said both ministers agreed to take defense relations to the “next level of deliverables.”
Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell, while delivering a speech at India’s National Defense College in April, had said the three countries should identify new ways in which they can collaborate to be the “best possible custodians of the Indian Ocean.” .
Rear Admiral (Retired) Sudarshan Shrikhande, a strategic affairs expert who focuses on the Indo-Pacific, described the planned meetings as a good development, especially in light of growing concerns about China.
“An increasing number of nations around the world, but even more throughout the Indo-Pacific, are seriously concerned by China’s claims, belligerence, and kinks of arms, while recognizing the potential of its powerful military. “, said.
“The union of Australia, Indonesia and India could be a key factor for stability, freedom of the commons and mutual understanding and respect,” said Shrikhande, adding that the Quadrilateral or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue will carry greater weight if Expands regional security cooperation to involve Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
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