Australian Deputy PM Richard Marles to Visit India for 2nd Defence Ministers’ Dialogue

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles will travel to India next week to hold the 2nd Australia–India Defence Ministers’ Dialogue with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The visit follows Mr Marles’ participation in the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, one of the Indo-Pacific region’s leading defence and security forums organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

According to the Australian government, the two ministers will review existing bilateral defence cooperation and discuss ways to deepen strategic and military ties. The first edition of the dialogue was held in Australia in October 2025. The current visit reflects the upgraded India–Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and a steady increase in joint exercises such as AUSTRA HIND (army), AUSINDEX (navy) and Pitch Black (air force).

Calling Australia and India “top-tier security partners”, Mr Marles linked the discussions to “a deteriorating strategic environment” in the Indo-Pacific. Areas likely to be discussed include maritime domain awareness, information sharing, defence industry collaboration and cooperation in critical and emerging technologies. The dialogue also feeds into the broader Quad agenda on Indo-Pacific security.

For exam aspirants, the visit highlights the India–Australia defence relationship, the role of the Shangri-La Dialogue as a Track 1.5 forum, and the wider framework of India’s defence diplomacy with maritime democracies of the Indo-Pacific.