Australia Mentions Quad's "Deep Trust", As It Joins India-US-Japan Naval Alliance
Newsdesk |
October 20, 2020
Australia will participate in the Malabar naval exercise next month involving India, the US and Japan that will bring the four key defence partners and democracies in the region together, demonstrating their collective resolve to support an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific. In a significant move that comes amid a China-India border standoff, India on Monday announced Australia's participation in the upcoming Malabar exercise along with the US and Japan, effectively making it the first military-level engagement between the four-member nation grouping - the Quad.
New Delhi, 20 October 2020
The invitation by India to the Australian navy for the exercise came two weeks after the Foreign Ministers of the Quad held extensive talks in Tokyo with a focus on enhancing their cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, a region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese military assertiveness.
In a joint statement with Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the announcement was another important step in Australia's deepening relationship with India.
