New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Aiming to foster deeper bilateral defence understanding, a visiting Australian Command and Staff College delegation was received by the Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff (HQ, IDS), an official said on Tuesday.

“During their week-long visit, the 11-member team will engage with Service Institutions, Defence Public Sector Undertakings and private Defence Industries,” said the HQ, IDS, India Army, in a message on X.

“As an initiative towards Strengthening Defence ties, HQ_IDS received the Australian Command & Staff College, Capability Management Course delegation led by Lt Col Mathew Clissold,” it said.

A senior officer of HQ, IDS, briefed the delegation on India’s strategic perspectives for deeper bilateral defence understanding.

Last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Australia – the first by an Indian Defence Minister in 12 years – and during his engagement, the Australia–India relationship was elevated from strategic alignment to operational depth.

A report said that the timing of Rajnath Singh’s visit aligned with Exercise AUSTRAHIND, a bilateral land exercise conducted in the Australian city of Perth from October 13 to 26, emphasising company-level operations in urban and semi-urban settings.

“India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s October 9-10 visit to Australia marked a watershed in Indo-Australian relations. The visit delivered concrete, future-oriented defence and security cooperation outcomes that align closely with the Indo-Pacific strategies of both countries,” a report in the Australian Institute of International Affairs highlighted.

“Coming amid the fifth anniversary of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, this visit highlighted how Canberra and New Delhi view each other as security partners, and how operationalisation of strategic alignment across maritime security, industry, logistics, defence technology and intelligence sharing defines this partnership,” it stressed.

According to the report, Singh’s visit centred on the inaugural Australia–India Defence Ministers’ Dialogue, resulting in a detailed joint statement. The most significant outcome was the Australia–India Implementing Arrangement on Mutual Submarine Rescue Support and Cooperation.

“This arrangement will not only deepen undersea trust and coordination between both countries but also help counter China’s power projection in the Indian Ocean, often framed as a two-ocean strategy. The establishment of Joint Staff Talks is another key development, providing a robust forum for joint exercises, operations and interoperability across domains,” the report detailed

–IANS

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