Australia, Japan, and the United States on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to support India’s maritime surveillance efforts in the Indo-Pacific region while recognising the importance of closer collaboration in the field.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, Japanese Defence Minister Nakatani Gen, and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin III convened the fourteenth Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting (TDMM) on Sunday in Darwin, Australia.
“We commit to enhancing Australia-Japan-India-United States maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific from 2025, acknowledging India’s leadership role in conceptualizing the idea of closer collaboration in maritime surveillance,” a joint statement issued after the meeting stated.
India’s maritime surveillance in the Indo-Pacific region focuses on bolstering its naval and maritime security while developing a comprehensive Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) framework.
The trilateral leaders also expressed satisfaction over recent joint initiatives, stating, “We welcome the success of our maritime patrol aircraft collaboration activity with India on the sidelines of …