Australia and India have signed a significant bilateral defence agreement, officially deepening their strategic partnership and practical military cooperation.

During the visit to Canberra of India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh — the first such visit since 2013 — he and Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles committed the two nations to fresh operational collaboration encompassing submarine rescue, joint staff dialogue, and defence-industry engagement.

Under the deal, a forum of annual Defence Ministers’ Dialogue will be institutionalised to steer the relationship forward.

The parties also announced the signing of an Implementing Arrangement on Mutual Submarine Rescue Support and Cooperation, and agreed to further information sharing and air-to-air refuelling integration as part of a broader defence-industry roadmap.

Australia described India as a “top-tier security partner” whose cooperation delivers practical effects to uphold Indo-Pacific stability.

Analysts noted the agreement marks a transition from strategic alignment to operational depth, with Canberra and New Delhi each becoming more capable of coordinated deployments, logistics support and industrial collaboration.

The agreement comes against the backdrop of the four-nation Quad alliance — comprising Australia, India, Japan and the United States — which has been coordinating maritime-security responses in the region.

India’s participation in Australia’s major biennial Exercise Talisman Sabre earlier in 2025 signalled the shift toward operational collaboration.

Defence-industry cooperation forms a major component of the pact.

Australia’s first Defence Trade Mission to India and the inaugural India Pavilion at Australia’s Land Forces Expo highlight the growing focus on co-production and capability integration.

Observers suggest this may enhance both nations’ sovereign-capability agendas and help share the burden of regional deterrence.

While Canberra has secured its second alliance-level security pact after the ANZUS Treaty with the United States and New Zealand, the new deal with India reflects Australia’s broader effort to expand its strategic footprint across the Indo-Pacific.

For India it signals growing operational ties with a Pacific partner and affirmation of its status as a regional security actor.

The next test for the pact will lie in its execution — converting signed arrangements into joint missions, sustained logistics and shared industrial output — and both countries have already invited reciprocal visits and joint staff engagements in 2026 to maintain momentum.