Australia signs new defence, nuclear deals with India during controversial visit

Australia signs new defence, nuclear deals with India during controversial visit

India and Australia have announced a series of new nuclear, security and defence deals during Narendra Modi's visit to Australia. His first visit in three years has had a mixed reception, from a stadium filled with supporters, to protesters rallying against his government's human rights record.

By Camille Bianchi, Tom Stayner

Produced in collaboration with SBS Gujarati, SBS Hindi and SBS Punjabi

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“Australia's relationship with India has never been more consequential than it is today. Our partnership has never been stronger. We share a focus on deepening and diversifying the relationship between our countries.”

That was Prime Minister, Anothony Albanese, addressing the public after he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a uranium deal that could end more than a decade of delays to regular shipments of the fuel.

Australia and India signed a civil nuclear agreement in 2014 but regular shipments of uranium haven't occurred amid concerns the fuel could be used for weapons.

Australia has now agreed to send uranium exports to India to aid its nuclear energy ambitions.

“This will pave the way for Uranium supplies from Australia to India and give our clean energy objectives fresh momentum.”

It's not the only agreement the Prime Ministers have made.

Further education deals have been announced, including approval for a Flinders University campus in India and increased Australian vocational programs in the Asian nation.

India has also promised to return the remains of a First Nations ancestor to Australia, currently held in the Government Museum of Chennai.

The ancestor will be sent back to their Traditional Custodians, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also announced the voluntary return of several items of cultural significance to India that have been held in the collections of the National Gallery and Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Nagesh Singh, has told SBS Hindi sport has also been on the agenda.

“Australia is a sporting superpower, so sports management, sports medicine, sports technology, sports infrastructure. Because Australia is hosting the Brisbane Olympics. We have ambitions of making a bid for 2036 Olympics, 2030 Commonwealth Games in India.”

India is poised to become the third largest economy in the world and Australia is among the nations lining up to make use of the alliance.

The two countries currently have more than $50 billion worth of trade between them.

But it's defence that has featured most prominently.

A week after Fiji and Australia signed a deal for enhanced cooperation - and days after China tested a missile in international waters - India and Australia have announced a commitment to further expand defense and security cooperation, including a focus on maritime security in the Indo Pacific.

“The declaration reflects our shared commitment to a peaceful stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific Region. We will boost strategic coordination, increase the complexity of our defence exercises and further build interoperability between our defence forces. We undertake to consult on defence-related developments in the Indo Pacific that reflect our shared interests.”

Mr Modi's trip to Australia, as with his previous two visits, has attracted significant negative attention.

Last week, the Australian Federal Police formally warned a young person who had made a death threat towards the leader ahead of his arrival on shore.

This week, police have also thrown out an online influencer who entered the Melbourne hotel where the Indian prime minister is staying, and who filmed himself shouting profanities directed at the leader.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has condemned the Indian government for a decline in India's living standards, and the targeting of journalists and academics through anti-terror legislation.

There were also protests outside Docklands stadium where an event was held before a capacity crowd on Thursday night,

What appeared to be two separate groups demonstrating against Modi's arrival, one group targeting the PM's human rights record and the second consisting of far-right demonstrators, who called for the leader and other Indians to go back home.

Alliance Against Islamophobia chair Waseem Razei says the demonstrators from his group were concerned about human rights in India and the impact on minority communities.

“Because of the human rights violations taking place in India and against so many other minority groups, because of the foreign interference here in Australia by importing the hate, the same hate in India that is being imported here to Australia.”

But Mr Modi has the support of a significant portion of the Indian diaspora in Australia.

Canberra India Council chair Deepak-Raj Gupta says Modi is one of three types of people who are "very popular": namely politicians, Bollywood stars and cricket players."

For Bhavan Modi, the visit strengthens ties among Indian expats.

“While Modi is coming he is also getting us proud as well to make more multiculturalism and a connecting bond together, getting stronger and stronger.”

At the stadium event, Modi has been greeted like a rock star as he appeared before a crowd of around 30,000 people.

Melbourne is home to the largest Indian population in the nation.

And thousands from the Indian diaspora in Australia had also travelled to see Modi at the event.

Ragu Thovinkere Sri Vasaih told SBS he and his friends were excited to see the leader in person.

“It is like, I am having goosebumps right now and I can't express. Because we are seeing him in all of the television and the media, but to catch a glimpse of him for real is probably a lifetime achievement I can say.”

Rajan Katkam and his friends drove from Adelaide to Melbourne for the occasion.

“We are going to witness our Prime Minister Modi is inspiring the whole world and we just, we are followers, we are characters of the country and we are proud to be here.”