New Delhi: – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison held a telephonic talk. Prime Minister Modi said that the decision to strengthen strategic cooperation between the two countries was taken during the discussion. Simultaneously, Prime Minister Modi said that even the regional issued were discussed with Prime Minister Morrison. Virtual meeting of the Foreign Ministers of QUAD countries was held on Thursday. Discussion between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Morrison before that becomes significant.
On Thursday, a virtual meeting between the Foreign Ministers of India, Japan, Australia and the United States was held. Resolution to make the Indo-Pacific sector free, open and inclusive was made during the meeting. The importance of the countries with democratic system, free markets and diverse social systems was underlined. Considering the developments on the international level, the QUAD Foreign Ministers concurred that there is a need to strengthen the association of democratic countries. It is said that the coronavirus pandemic and Myanmar revolt also featured in the discussions between the QUAD Foreign Ministers.
Meanwhile, the discussions between the Indian and Australian prime ministers became more significant before this meeting. Other than the information given by Prime Minister Modi, no other details regarding the discussions have been revealed. But the dispute between Australia and China is on the verge of festering. Both the countries have issued stern warnings to each other and taken some tough economic decisions against each other. In this scenario, it is clear that the Australian prime minister’s discussions with the Indian Prime Minister hold strategic importance. There has been a change of guard in the United States and President Trump, having an intense anti-China stand, has been replaced by Joe Biden. Strong doubts are being expressed that Biden will adopt a liberal policy regarding China.
Currently, Biden has tried to put the speculations against him to rest by making some anti-China statements. The Biden administration is also vying to clear the doubts raised about his stand. Still, concerns are being expressed that Biden will chose to appease China for a handful of US entrepreneurs. The Biden administration is assuring support to the QUAD cooperation. But some analysts have inferred that in reality he will refrain from taking any action against China. Considering this, India has initiated moves to cooperate with Japan and Russia to keep the Indo-Pacific sector stable. Indications are that Australia is also keen on cooperating with India in this matter.
Australia lost a major market due to disputes with China. In these times, Australia is making efforts to make economic cooperation with India, more comprehensive. After China stopped buying coal from Australia, India purchased huge quantities of coal from Australia. It has become necessary for both the countries to strengthen the trade and strategic cooperation in mutual interest. This issue is standing out in the discussions between the Prime Ministers of both the countries.
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