Australia has offered to sell the Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle and anti-IED devices to India, even as the two countries will now crank up their defence ties through more combat exercises as well as strengthen cooperation on maritime and regional security, intelligence-sharing and counter-terrorism.
Visiting Australian defence minister Kevin Andrews on Thursday said that he had offered Bushmaster, a four-wheel armoured vehicle, and anti-IED devices, which jam signals that trigger explosives, under the new joint working group to be set up between the defence R&D establishments of the two countries. “Bushmaster is the best vehicle of its type in the world. Australia has used the vehicle, which deflects blasts, in Afghanistan for a decade without any casualty,” he said.
After meetings with PM Narendra Modi, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, national security adviser Ajit Doval and others over the last two days, Andrews said that the bilateral “strategic convergence” had led to the “positive trajectory of our defence relationship”. This will be “exemplified” by holding of the first-ever bilateral naval exercise “AusIndex” off Visakhapatnam from September 12 onwards. “We have also invited India to participate in the next Royal Australian Air Force exercise Pitch Black. We will gradually expand the range and scope of the exercises,” he said.
Asked about terror attacks on India emanating from Pakistan, he said, “As a matter of principle, we would say that no country should export terrorism to another country, the export of terrorism is something that we are opposed to. Terrorists have to be dealt with at its roots, at its grounds rather than try and deal with it when it reaches a country”.