New Delhi: India Friday asked Australia to join a coordinated global effort to ensure that no terror is exported from Afghanistan and that the war-torn country does not become a safe haven for terrorists.
This along with the increased muscle-flexing by China and the need for open and stable sea lines of communication topped the agenda of the bilateral talks held between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton Friday, government sources told ThePrint.
According to sources, these issues will be discussed in further detail during the first-ever 2+2 ministerial dialogue between India and Australia tomorrow, in which External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne will also take part.
The situation in Afghanistan was a major focus of the discussion between the two countries with both agreeing that the Taliban government should be held to its commitment of not allowing Afghan territory to be used against any other country.
Singh, sources noted, told his counterpart that global efforts should be undertaken to ensure that Resolution 2593, passed during India’s presidency of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) last month, is implemented.
The resolution demands that the Afghan territory should not be used to “threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts” and also reiterates the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan.
It was the first resolution adopted by the UNSC on the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s return to power in August.
Also read: ‘Deeply disappointed’ with non-inclusive Taliban govt in Afghanistan, Australia says
China, Indo-Pacific also discussed by ministers
According to sources, China and its increasing muscle-flexing were also discussed during the bilateral talks.
The two ministers discussed the Ladakh stand-off between India and China, which took place last year, and Singh told Dutton that the focus currently was on resolving the crisis through talks.
The Indo-Pacific region also came up for discussion with both sides agreeing that the freedom of navigation is important in the region and that no country has the right to go against global laws.
The two countries also focused on bilateral defence cooperation and expanding military engagements across services.
Enhancing sharing of defence information, cooperation in emerging defence technologies and mutual logistics support were some other points of discussion in the meeting.
“I have had a very fruitful and wide-ranging discussion with Minister Dutton on our bilateral defence cooperation as well as regional issues. Both of us are keen to work jointly to realise the full potential of the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,’ said Singh, in a statement after the talks.
He also said the India-Australia partnership is based “on our shared vision of free, open, inclusive and rule-based Indo-Pacific region”.
Both Australia and India have tremendous stakes in peace, development and free flow of trade, rules-based order and economic growth in the region, the defence minister added.
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