Canberra/New Delhi : Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton are firming up plans to visit India for meetings with their counterparts.
Australian media house ABC reported that Payne and Dutton are to visit New Delhi and Indonesia for “2+2” meetings of the foreign and defence ministers. They are also to travel to the US.
The overseas trip would be Dutton’s first since becoming Defence Minister in March.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison may also visit the United States in September for a possible in-person meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue leaders, with US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
The extensive travel plans being drawn up for Dutton and Senator Payne signal the Australian government is keen to re-engage in face-to-face meetings with key Asian partners, abc.net.au reported.
In India, Dutton is likely to again encourage India to join the next Talisman Sabre exercises in Queensland which already involve Japan, South Korea and the US.
The pandemic and regional security are likely to also dominate talks in Indonesia, a country that has been grappling with Chinese-flagged fishing vessels in its territorial waters.
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