NEW DELHI: India and Australia on Thursday signed seven agreements, including landmark pact on access to military bases for logistics support, after first-ever virtual summit between PM Narendra Modi and his Aussie counterpart Scott Morrison.
A process of comprehensive reforms covering almost all areas has been initiated in India as it is viewing the coronavirus crisis as an “opportunity”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday at the online summit with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
The accord allows military ships and aircraft to refuel and access maintenance facilities, and is widely seen as being part of a broader strategy by democracies in the region to counter China’s military and economic weight.
India has a similar pact with the United States which is seen as part of a broader security cooperation to balance China’s growing economic and military weight in the region.
Although China is the biggest buyer of Australia’s exports, there have been trade frictions between the two recently. And Australia also raised China’s hackles by pushing for an international review into the origins and spread of the novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
In his opening remarks, Modi also pitched for a coordinated and collaborative approach to come out of the adverse economic and social impact of the epidemic that has infected around