The Australian High Commissioner Philip Green has emphasised his country’s strong ties with India which are at the “highest point” and this has been a “landmark year” for both countries. The Indian PM Modi had traveled to Australia this year, while Australian PM Albanese visited India two times, one on a bilateral visit and another to attend the G20 summit.
Speaking to WION’s diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, he pointed to cooperation in the Indian Ocean, saying,” we undertake that closer engagement in the Indian Ocean, India will be our most vital partner”.
Both sides are working on several areas from education to defence.
On Education ties and visas for Indian students, he highlighted, “processing times for Indian students seeking a visit to Australia are now very short. We had a period up to COVID where there was an explosion where we weren’t able to cope with that and press sometimes for longer. Now they are shorter”. On Defence, he pointed out that both sides are, “just normalising closer cooperation with defence and security agencies here in India and back in Canberra and that continues to go from strength to strength”.
He also spoke on other issues like Australia is dealing with the Khalistani extremists, Quad, India in the Pacific, & more.
WION: It has been a landmark year between Australia and India. What were the key outcomes of the 2+2 Defence and Foreign Ministers meeting that took place in Delhi 2 weeks ago?
Philip Green: Well, it’s great to be with you Siddhant especially just so soon after what was very successful 2+2. I think the key framing for the two plus two, as you said, is that it’s been a landmark year between Australia and India. We are closer than we have ever been, and in the strategic field, there’s a very high level of alignment. And that was evident in the conversations I’ve been in a lot of these ministerial dialogues. And this was businesslike, purposeful and with a real sense of shared objective. Our ministers respect each other and it was a very good conversation. You asked what came out of it. We will do more together on the maritime domain, We will do more together in cohering the work of our diplomats across the Indo Pacific on strategic fields where we very much feel alike. And then there were particular announcements on work together on hydrography , on a 1.5 track Strategic Dialogue that our officials and ministers and academicians will have together. We will continue aircraft deployments to each other’s territory and indeed naval deployments to each other’s territory. So there will be a stronger sense of interoperability to put into our forces and normalizing the already higher level of activity between our forces that we see. Also a bit of discussion on important economic spheres in space, especially the green energy supply chain where Australia and India have complementary interests and we can work together. So overall, it was a really terrific hit out and I think I know our ministers left feeling very much satisfied that this bilateral relationship continues to be on a clearly upward trajectory.
WION: The relationship on upward trajectory, but briefly, how do you characterize this relationship today?
Philip Green: It’s at the highest point that it’s ever been. And my Prime Minister has given me a very clear signal, but what he expects me to do is to push it as far and as fast as we possibly can. And, you know, for me, there are three strategic drivers. But the first is that in our views on the Indo Pacific, we are aligned in a way that we’d never have been and we’re going to work together. In the economic field, there’s a very high level of complementarity. Your society is growing fast and has much energy and vibrancy. We have a lot of energy, innovations, I will tell you what we have, we have the minerals, the metals, the critical minerals, the energy that can serve to support your economy as well as things in the education frame. And then the third field is what we call the human bridge, that nearly a million people of Indian origin who now make Australia home, in our context, that’s a lot they’re making a big, they’re making big contribution to our society. And we want them to make a bigger contribution to our bilateral relationship and we’re very confident that they will.
WION: So let’s now go to various pillars starting with education, we saw the opening up of an Australian university in Gujarat which is a first for India as well. So education remains an aspect if we can talk about that and especially Indian students, one of the challenges the Indian students face is the visa issues. You talk about that as well, the problems they face.
Philip Green: Well, I think first of all, they don’t face problems, they have success. And the processing times for Indian students seeking a visit to Australia are now very short. We had a period of up to COVID where there was an explosion where we weren’t able to cope with that and press sometimes for longer. Now they are now shorter. People who have the right qualifications to go to Australia will get a visa and many are in fact that number is increasing and now Indian students are the second largest cohort of international students we have in Australia. But we’re opening a whole new chapter next year, because for the first time there will be Australian branch campuses in India. And as you say, the first two will be in Gujarat and we’re very much looking forward to University of Wollongong and Deakin that they will be operating courses from the middle of next year. That’s a huge new development. And as a result of the Indian government’s decision to allow foreign branch campuses in other parts of India apart from GIFT city, we think that there will be many who will follow the same footsteps.
WION: Another pillar is defense which has grown leaps and bounds. We have seen this year Indian submarines going to Australia, Indian forces taking part in exercises in Australia and of course the Malabar exercises as well. So if you can talk about the defense aspect, where do you see the focus area, any new developments which are expected to happen
Philip Green: AUSTRA HIND 22 exercises took place in Australia, that’s mostly army but with Navy and Air Force elements as well. It’s happening in Perth, Australia with nearly 100 Indian soldiers. So I expect that higher level of tempo of exercises, higher levels of interoperability, but essentially with a start a key thing that we are going to do more on his maritime domain awareness. We have a large Indian Ocean, especially the eastern Indian Ocean, which is of interest to both of us. We can each know something about what’s going on in that domain but we can’t know all of it. It’s massive. So working together, we can find ways of understanding more about that. And then at the day to day level, we are just normalizing closer cooperation with defense and security agencies here in India and back in Canberra and that continues to go from strength to strength.
WION: How both countries are working in the Pacific. When the Deputy PM came here in India, he talked about Indian humanitarian support reaching Tonga using the MLSA. Indian PM going to the Pacific, if you can talk about India and Australia working together in the Pacific?
Philip Green: You know, we’ve already got some really good runs on the board here. Don’t forget that in the middle of COVID, it was Australia and India that cooperated to get vaccines to the Pacific. They’ve got vaccines manufactured in India and desperately needed by the small countries for the Pacific. Of course, we have a lot of logistic capability there. Our aircraft fly in the air all the time, and we essentially need the last mile delivery to Pacific countries are vaccines produced and donated by India. So that’s a great start. As you said Prime Minister Modi was there in Papua New Guinea earlier this year. We are the largest development corporation donor to the South Pacific. We regard South Pacific countries with our family, and they are the first call of our resources. As a result, you know, we know a fair bit about what their development needs are. We respect India’s capability to produce development assistance to these countries which is appropriate to their circumstances. And so our role is to provide whatever guidance and support we can to the Indian effort to provide development assistance in our meeting.
Philip Green: That may be something for the future. But what we’re very keen to do initially is to make sure that we provide whatever support the Indian government wants to ensure that good development assistance comes to our Pacific neighbors.
WION: How do you see the Quad, and also the grapevine on the 27th January. Is Australia planning to attend that quad summit?
Philip Green: I will leave announcements about the dates of the quad summit to the people who should be making them and notably Prime Minister Modi. But let me say this, I mean, I spoke to the Prime Minister when he was here for the G 20. He’s very much looking forward to the quad summit and we’ll be flexible to make sure that we are available at a mutually convenient time. So it’s, of course, a vitally important forum for us with our traditional alliance partner, the United States, with Japan with whom we’ve had a deep, powerful economic partnership for decades, but now in a rapid path to developing stronger security partnerships. And with India, we have never previously seen the level of strategic alignment that we’re currently showing. So for us, it’s very exciting. Now, you asked about what’s going on. Well, you know, I remind you that during COVID 400 million vaccines were delivered by quad countries to countries in the Indo Pacific. So there’s a lot of runs already on the board. We’re focused on ensuring that our region remains peaceful and that it has an open and inclusive and free character. We’re providing important public goods to countries of the region that will help their sovereign capability, capabilities and counter cyber capabilities in helping them do maritime domain awareness, capabilities in building high quality sustainable infrastructure. So there’s a wide canvas on which we’re working. And our partnership, we think, is vital for our future and there’s a huge support for it in Australia.
WION: So diaspora is another aspect of the relationship. We saw when the Prime Minister traveled to Sydney, Harris Park became Little India. If we can talk about that. If we can talk about Khalistan extremists, we saw earlier this year. They were involved in protests and also action by the Australian authorities. If you can sum up the aspects of diaspora, how they are playing an important role and what Australia is doing to deal with Khalistan extremism.
Philip Green: The first thing is, there are now nearly a million people of Indian origin who made Australia their home and they are making a big contribution to our society. We warmly welcome them, and we are as the government seeking to engage them in our bilateral relationship. We’ve set up set up a center for Australia India relations, not far from Harris Spark, which is led by two Australians of Indian origin, high quality people, and their job is to make sure that the Australian diaspora the Indian diaspora in Australia is activated so that it can benefit the bilateral relationship. But I’ll give you an obvious example. People of Indian origin in Australia will understand what Australia can do and understand India’s economic systems. There may be ways in which they can support trade and economic activity between our nations. That’s an opportunity we don’t want to miss. So you spoke about Khalistan. Look. What is very important in Australia, is that the two things that are vitally important , people have the right to demonstrate and undertake a peaceful protest. That’s a core part of our democracy. And we will always allow that to take place. The focus is on peace and our security authorities , migration authorities and police authorities are very active in making sure that those demonstrations, when they occur, happen within normal parameters. We are acutely focused on defending the properties of the Indian consul general, the high commission that is important for India’s respect and dignity and we spend a lot of effort making sure that no problems occur there and they haven’t.
WION: But there were certain reports of the Hindu temples being vandalized in Australia. I mean, what has been the action taken on that?
Philip Green: Well, those activities if they have occurred will be closely investigated by Australian police authorities. That sort of activity warrants the police doing the best investigation that they possibly can, whether they will actually be able to find the perpetrators. We can’t tell. But I can assure you that there is a very deep focus not just in the federal government in Australia, but also in state governments on avoiding these sorts of actions and undertaking the correct police response. Whenever they do.
WION: India and Australia share an ocean, the Indian ocean. how both countries are working together in the Indian Ocean to deal with problems like illegal fishing like piracy, human trafficking, so any mechanism which is being dealt with or whoever
Philip Green: There is always talks about maritime domain awareness so that we both understand better what is happening in our shared Indian Ocean. And all of the fields that you mentioned are fields in which we are acting. I have staff from the Navy. I have staff from the Australian Border Force, from the Australian home affairs authorities and a day does not go past where they are not engaging with their Indian counterparts about these activities. So we will be doing more because we take ever more seriously the significance of them, especially the Northeast Indian Ocean, and for us for Australia as we take a greater focus on that area of the world. and it’s important that we have decided to host an Indian Ocean conference of ministers in Perth in February next year as part of that effort. As we undertake that closer engagement in the Indian Ocean, India will be our most vital partner.
WION: So my last question to you is how much China is a concern for Australia, here in Delhi, China is a major concern with the at the border, you have been facing problems as well if we can sum up the China problem in the Indo Pacific.
Philip Green: If iI sum it up, we will cooperate with China where we can and we will disagree with them where we must. We have an economic relationship with China which is important to us. Our Prime Minister made a visit to China recently and we have had some imperfections in our bilateral economic relations and some of those have been resolved. We’re pleased about that. We think that engagement with China and a level of cooperation with China is valuable. But we have differences with China. We ask the question, why is it that China is taking the biggest military modernization in the world since the Second World War and that is happening without as far as we can see any open source explanation of its rationale or any strategic reassurance about what support. So, we are cooperating with China where we can but we will disagree and we will ask questions of them where we must on issues that are difficult.
