Modi courts Pacific partners as China, US reshape region
A three-nation diplomatic tour covering Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand produced a series of strategic agreements, following earlier engagements with Japan
India and Indonesia signed a defence deal for the export of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile batteries
India and Australia finalised a bilateral administrative arrangement operationalising uranium exports to India for civilian nuclear power generation, alongside a critical minerals supply chain partnership
India and New Zealand elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership, with emphasis on trade and security ties
The tour coincided with a Chinese nuclear-capable ballistic missile test in the Pacific and a shift in US regional messaging, including the dropping of "Indo" from the US Indo-Pacific Command's public references in some contexts
BrahMos Missile Exports — India's Defence Diplomacy Tool
BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, established in 1998. Capable of being launched from land, sea, and air platforms, it has become a flagship instrument of India's defence export policy under the "Make in India" and defence diplomacy initiatives.
Key Details
- The Philippines was BrahMos's first export customer, with a $375 million deal for the shore-based anti-ship variant signed in 2022 and delivered in 2024
- Vietnam and now Indonesia have followed as export customers; the Indonesia deal (announced July 2026) covers two batteries of the land-based coastal-defence variant, reportedly valued around $200 million
- Defence exports of this nature proceed through India's Defence Acquisition Procedure, with government-to-government clearance and adherence to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) guidelines — India became an MTCR member in 2016, which enabled BrahMos exports beyond the missile's earlier 300 km range cap
- BrahMos exports strengthen the recipient nation's coastal defence and anti-access capability, relevant amid rising maritime tensions with China
The Indonesia sale extends India's defence export footprint to a key Southeast Asian, Indo-Pacific-facing state as India seeks a larger strategic role in the region alongside its established defence partnerships with the Philippines and Vietnam.
India-Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation and Uranium Supply
India's ability to import uranium despite being a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) rests on the 2008 Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) "clean waiver," which exempted India from the NSG's full-scope safeguards requirement following the 2005 India-US civil nuclear deal. Australia and India signed a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement in September 2014, but commercial uranium exports did not materialise for over a decade due to unresolved verification and safeguards arrangements.
Key Details
- NSG waiver for India: granted 6 September 2008, based on India's voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing and separation of civilian/military nuclear facilities
- India-Australia civil nuclear agreement signed: September 2014 (PM Modi and then-PM Tony Abbott)
- The July 2026 administrative arrangement operationalises this 2014 framework, enabling actual uranium exports under IAEA safeguards restricting use to civilian power generation only
- Australia holds an estimated 28% of the world's known uranium reserves
- India's stated target: 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, up from roughly 8 GW currently installed
The 2026 arrangement converts a decade-old dormant agreement into an active uranium supply relationship, directly supporting India's civil nuclear expansion goals and diversifying its uranium sources beyond existing suppliers such as Kazakhstan, Russia, and Canada.
India's Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific Strategic Framework
India's Act East Policy, announced in 2014 as an upgrade of the 1991 Look East Policy, guides India's diplomatic, economic, and security engagement with East and Southeast Asia and, increasingly, the wider Indo-Pacific and Pacific Island states. It is complemented by the SAGAR doctrine ("Security and Growth for All in the Region"), articulated by the Prime Minister in 2015, which frames India's approach to maritime security and cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region and beyond.
Key Details
- Act East Policy rests on the "4 Cs": Culture, Commerce, Connectivity, Capacity Building
- SAGAR doctrine first articulated: March 2015, during a visit to Mauritius
- India is a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), alongside the US, Japan, and Australia — three of the countries India engaged with on this tour
- This tour's outreach to Pacific-facing states (Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan) reflects an extension of India's traditional Indian Ocean-centred maritime strategy toward the broader Indo-Pacific and Pacific Islands region
The agreements signed on this tour — defence exports, civil nuclear cooperation, critical minerals partnerships, and an elevated strategic partnership with New Zealand — are concrete instruments through which India operationalises its Act East and Indo-Pacific strategic objectives amid intensifying China-US competition for regional influence.
Critical Minerals Partnerships and Supply Chain Diversification
Critical minerals — including rare earth elements, lithium, and cobalt — are essential inputs for clean energy technology, electronics, and defence manufacturing. China currently dominates global processing capacity for many of these minerals, prompting India and partner countries to pursue diversified, "friend-shored" supply chains.
Key Details
- India launched the National Critical Mineral Mission in 2024 to secure domestic and overseas critical mineral supply
- The India-Australia critical minerals partnership builds on Australia's position as a major producer of lithium and rare earth ores
- Critical minerals cooperation is a recurring theme across Quad joint statements and India's bilateral pacts with resource-rich partners
- Semiconductor and critical mineral supply chains have become central to Indo-Pacific economic security dialogues, distinct from traditional trade agreements (FTAs/CEPAs)
The critical minerals component of the India-Australia agreements signed on this tour reflects a broader regional trend of reducing dependence on China for strategic manufacturing inputs, a theme also visible in the defence and connectivity agreements reached with other Pacific partners.
- NSG waiver for India: granted 6 September 2008
- India-Australia civil nuclear cooperation agreement signed: September 2014; operationalised via administrative arrangement, July 2026
- Australia's share of global known uranium reserves: approximately 28%
- India's nuclear capacity target: 100 GW by 2047 (current installed capacity roughly 8 GW)
- BrahMos-Indonesia deal: two missile batteries, land-based coastal-defence variant, reported value approximately $200 million
- BrahMos prior export customers: Philippines (2022 deal, $375 million, delivered 2024), Vietnam
- India MTCR membership: 2016, enabling longer-range missile exports
- Act East Policy announced: 2014 (successor to 1991 Look East Policy); SAGAR doctrine articulated: March 2015
- Quad members: India, United States, Japan, Australia