India-Australia defence ties gain fresh momentum ahead of high-level Army visit

There are clear signs that India-Australia ties are on an upward trajectory. The Australian Army Chief is due to visit India for a second time in his tenure. Lt General Simon Stuart, AO, DSC, had last visited India as part of the Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs’ Conference in 2023, and he will be here again from August 10-15.

The visit was preceded by a host of top officials meeting with the political leadership, including Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, who was in Delhi in June to mark the fifth anniversary of the Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This was followed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Washington on July 1, 2025. Alongside all this are military exercises to be held in October this year.

Focus on Land Warfare Studies

The Army Chief is here on a high-level visit to cement these burgeoning relations with an interaction with his counterparts in Delhi. Among his other engagements, he will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi, which will establish cooperation with the Australian Army Research Centre to study emerging warfare strategies in a world where war and conflict, both conventional and unconventional, seem to be the norm rather than the exception, with Europe and the Middle East in flames. The two countries had signed a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in 2020, which has only now begun to take off, with bilateral visits and armed forces interactions rising significantly.

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The Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) was established in mid-2016. It was earlier called the Land Warfare Studies Centre. It sits as a Directorate within the Army’s Future Land Warfare Branch in the Land Capability Division of Army Headquarters. It is therefore the exact counterpart of the Indian think tank that is also placed under the aegis of the Indian Army Headquarters. Both centres aim at deep research into the employment and modernisation of the Army, in keeping with the country’s core interests. Both critically contribute to the Army’s understanding of the future character of war and the advancement of land power through a number of initiatives, including encouraging scholarship within the Army and fostering a dynamic understanding of the neighbourhood and beyond.

That Grey Zone Field

Of particular interest to both will be grey zone operations, which refer to a whole spectrum of adversarial activities involving both state and non-state actors, falling between traditional war and peace. It is marked by ambiguous, incremental, deniable and often non-attributable tactics designed to achieve strategic objectives without triggering a conventional military response.

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These include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, economic coercion, political subversion, use of proxy forces, and maritime militia operations. India faces this from various countries but primarily Pakistan and China, while Australia has seen a gradual rise in the size and nature of such operations from China. For instance, in February, three Chinese naval vessels carried out live-fire exercises in international waters in the Tasman Sea before continuing their navigation around the Australian continent.

Later, the dual-purpose vessel Tan Suo Yi Hao travelled west along Australia’s southern coastline. Both countries, however, have reached out to Beijing in an effort to mend ties, with Prime Minister Albanese in Beijing recently, and President Xi noting that ties with Australia have “turned around”. India’s Jaishankar was similarly in China recently, where he met his counterpart Wang Yi.

Quite apart from the fact that both countries are part of the Quad — the grouping which includes India, Australia, the US and Japan — both are also engaged in purely bilateral military exercises. In mid-July, India, along with 18 other nations, took part in Talisman Sabre 2025, a major bilateral military drill led by Australia. Now in its 11th iteration, this is the largest and most sophisticated warfighting exercise ever conducted in Australia, according to the Department of Defence, Australia. The exercise unites more than 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations.

Then there is AUSTRAHIND, held last year and now planned again in late 2025. According to government sources, the aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability in the conduct of joint sub-conventional operations in semi-urban environments in semi-desert terrain, most importantly under Chapter VII of the UN mandate. In other words, these drills are for actions under the UN mandate, thus not aimed at any other country. All of this is supplemented by agreements like the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, which helps streamline logistical support during joint exercises and humanitarian missions. There is also the air-to-air refuelling pact concluded last year. Both these extend the operational reach of each.

Bureaucracies Set the Stage

In mid-March, the 9th edition of India-Australia Defence Policy Talks was held, preceded by talks at ministerial and secretary levels. The discussions focused on cooperation priorities including maritime domain awareness, reciprocal information sharing, industry and science and technology collaboration, and exercises and exchanges including deployments from each other’s territories. Australia now designates India as a “Top-tier Defence Partner”, which fleshes out the original intent of the Strategic Partnership.

All of this is part and parcel of traditional military diplomacy, often underrated earlier in India. In recent times, however, the military has been encouraged to increase its outreach, with more defence attaché posts established across the world, including in Poland and, significantly, new posts in Armenia and the Philippines, with the former now the focus for defence exports from India.

As India-Australia relations improve, it is vital that defence attachés fulfil the directive given to them in early 2022 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, calling for them to act as “the bridge between India and Friendly Foreign Countries for mutual defence cooperation” and promote Indian defence production capabilities under Aatmanirbhar Bharat, showcasing innovation in both public and private defence sectors so as to promote these in their countries of accreditation.

While Australian defence firms are largely linked to US firms as Original Equipment Manufacturers, a range of partnership opportunities exists, particularly in innovation, to the benefit of both countries. That gives the relationship the vital grounding in bilateral terms to ensure sustainability. This means a more agile military bureaucracy on both sides, able to interact with a burgeoning domestic defence industry. All that and more will also lie on the shoulders of the two institutions on Land Warfare Studies, whose job it is now to think innovatively to get the military partnership up to speed — and beyond.

The writer is the Director General of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. Lt Gen Dushyant Singh (Retd) is Director General, CLAWS. Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.