2014 saw the strengthening of the Australia and India bilateral in the spheres of economic and defence co-operation. The nuclear deal cleared the sale of Australian uranium to India. Further, a new security pact was signed that involved cooperation on issues of counter-terrorism, border security, increased military exchanges, technology transfers and joint operations.
Involved in the U.S. ‘pivot to Asia’, both nations play pivotal geopolitical roles in the Indo-Pacific region. With their military build-up throughout the region, they exhibit strength against China. How then, is the changing global world order impacting Indo-Pacific security? How does Australia view its role and the role of India in regional security issues? The discussion seeks to examine the significance of the increasing bond between India and Australia. On March 12, Sam Roggeveen the editor of The Interpreter, the publication of the Lowy Institute for International Policy was in conversation by Sammer Patil, Associate Fellow, National Security, Ethnic Conflict & Terrorism, Gateway House, where they discussed these issues at Gateway House. This was the 19th meeting in the Gateway House G20 Series.
Sam Roggeveen is the founding editor of the Lowy Institute’s blog, The Interpreter. Since 2007 he’s been privileged to work with some of Australia’s best international policy minds to put together one of the smartest, wittiest, most informative sites on the web. Before joining the Lowy Institute, Sam was a senior strategic analyst in Australia’s peak intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments, where his work dealt mainly with nuclear strategy and arms control, ballistic-missile defence, North Asian strategic affairs and WMD terrorism. Sam also worked on arms control policy in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, and as an analyst in the Defence Intelligence Organisation. During his time in the bureaucracy, Sam discovered the power of blogs to transform the way politics is debated and discussed. Sam has written for various Australian newspapers and magazines, though these days he prefers to save his best material for The Interpreter.
Sameer Patil is Associate Fellow, National Security, Ethnic Conflict & Terrorism studies, Gateway House. Prior to this, he was Assistant Director at the National Security Council Secretariat in Prime Minister’s Office, New Delhi. Sameer has interned at the Indian Pugwash Society and the M. L. Sondhi Institute of Asia Pacific Affairs. He has written extensively on various aspects of national security including cyber security, fake currency, terrorism, India-Pakistan relations, India-China relations, the Kashmir issue and nuclear proliferation for various magazines, journals and newspapers.