In the backdrop of the US' allegations of an Indian link to an alleged assassination plot and Canada's charges relating to the killing of a Sikh separatist, Australia on Wednesday said it has "anxieties" over the matters but said that New Delhi and Canberra are capable of managing "differences" and "sensitive" issues. Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green said the two sides discuss these issues "sensitively and carefully behind closed doors". At an interactive session, hosted by the Asia Society Policy Institute, the newly-appointed envoy said Australia's engagement with India on these issues is less as a "Five-Eyes" partner and more as a friend of India. The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence-sharing alliance comprising Australia, the US, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. "Australia's engagement with India on this issue is less as a Five-Eyes partner and more as a friend of India and a country that is respectful of India with which we have a mature relationship," Green said. "We discuss these issues sensitively and carefully behind closed doors and I do not propose to go any further today than the statements that my foreign minister and our department made about their anxieties over these matters," he said. "We are also learning about each other at a deeper level: we've had our differences and we're managing sensitive issues, including the concerns we have about alleged activities on US and Canadian territory," Green said. Asked whether Australia would apply the same standard of friendship to India that it applies to the US, Green said "the US is the foundation stone of our security". The envoy said the Australia-US cooperation has been fertilised by decades of "very close cooperation" in diverse areas. "The development of the US relationship has gone for decades. The US is the foundation stone of our security and part of our global security that has been fertilised by decades of very close cooperation in diverse areas. "With India, we are catching up, catching up fast," he said. "There is a stability about the US-Australia relations and in a good way, the Australia-India relationship is not so stable. They are moving fast and there are many opportunities to take advantage of it," he said. Asked about attacks on Hindu temples in Australia, Green said his country has taken these incidents very seriously. "We take the sort of acts that you are talking about in relation to Hindu temples as seriously as we would take any act in relation to any religious element in our society," he said. Green said Australian police and concerned authorities are deeply focused on addressing these issues. He said people can protest in a peaceful way and without breaking the law in Australia. "Our focus is on making sure a high quality agreement and we are working to move ahead.Our focus is to make sure that the deal we reach genuinely works for the opportunities in our bilateral relations," Green said as Australia and India first launched negotiations for the CECA in May 2011. "Now with the ECTA, our industries are partnering together across sectors like horticulture, wine, dairy, etc," he said. "Our ECTA sets up our industries well with the elimination of tariffs on most critical minerals inputs. But we need to be more focused," the envoy said. "The market for these critical minerals in Australia is hot, with North America, Europe and East Asia securing much of the offtake. I want Indian batteries being made with Australian lithium," he said. Green said there are opportunities for the two sides to further expand economic and trade engagement.
