Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles, will travel to Singapore this week to attend the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue before visiting India for high-level defence discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and regional security engagement.
Marles is expected to participate in discussions at the annual security forum in Singapore, where defence leaders and policymakers from across the Indo-Pacific will meet to address regional and global security challenges.
According to a statement from the Australian government, Marles will use the platform to discuss maritime security and developments affecting the broader strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific.
Following the Singapore conference, Marles will travel to New Delhi to attend the second Australia–India Defence Ministers' Dialogue, where he is scheduled to meet Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The talks are expected to focus on expanding defence cooperation, maritime engagement, interoperability and broader security collaboration between the two countries.
In remarks issued ahead of the visit, Marles described India as a "top-tier security partner" for Australia and pointed to growing defence cooperation between the two countries in recent years.
He said the upcoming discussions would build on progress made since the inaugural Defence Ministers' Dialogue, which was held in Australia last year.
"Australia and India are top-tier security partners. I look forward to meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to further strengthen our defence partnership following the strong progress we made during his visit to Australia last year," Marles said.
Australia and India have expanded defence and security engagement in recent years through ministerial dialogues, joint military exercises, maritime cooperation and information-sharing initiatives.
Both countries are members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), alongside the United States and Japan, and have increasingly emphasised cooperation in support of a stable, secure and open Indo-Pacific region.
The upcoming dialogue is expected to review ongoing areas of cooperation and explore opportunities for further engagement across defence, maritime security and regional strategic affairs.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, organised annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, is regarded as one of the Asia-Pacific region's leading defence and security forums. The conference brings together defence ministers, military leaders and policymakers from around the world to discuss emerging security challenges, regional stability and international cooperation. (Source: theaustraliatoday.com.au)
