Rudd-y prospects for Indo-Aussie ties?

India-Australia ties, according to him are not just about curry, the Commonwealth and a common language. They should be given more substance. He has also emphasised the need to establish within the department of foreign affairs and trade an India division, and believes that Australia has the institutional and bureaucratic capacity to harness India8217;s growth for Australia8217;s long-term economic and strategic advantage. He forcefully calls for establishing regular prime ministerial visits, to 8216;inject greater political ballast into this relationship8217;.

If these are the promises, then challenges emerge, too. A major one is to balance Australia8217;s need to engage with India while not compromising on the ALP8217;s long-standing commitment to global non-proliferation and disarmament. Rudd8217;s opposition to the proposed supply of uranium to India, initiated by the previous John Howard regime, remains one of the most potent challenges to a Indo-Australian strategic partnership. Fortunately for the new Australian PM the delay in the India-US nuclear deal, due to political opposition to it in India, allows the Labour government to wait and watch the outcome of the parleys between New Delhi and Washington on the one hand and India and IAEA and India and the Nuclear Supply Group, on the other, before taking any stand on the issue. Rudd believes that since India is not a signatory to the NPT, the supply of uranium may jeopardise global disarmament efforts. For India this is hard to digest, as it not only ignores its long unblemished non-proliferation record and nuclear bonafides.

At the same time, there is an upside too. Rudd confronted John Howard over climate change, which has become a serious concern in Australia. He dismissed Howard8217;s idea of making India and China comply with emission cuts and argued for Australia ratifying the Kyoto Protocol first, rather than putting the onus on developing economies. While setting a target to cut greenhouse emission by 60 per cent by 2050, Rudd8217;s manifesto set Renewable Energy Target of 20 per cent by 2020. He has also proposed to invest AUD 500 million in a renewable energy fund to boost research in renewables, a huge sector that stands to gain further through collaboration with India. The Indo-Australia Joint Working Group earlier has looked into various aspects of bilateral energy cooperation, including promotion of Australia8217;s expertise in renewable energy. Australia has committed to exchanging information on renewable energy sector to facilitate the identification of possible proposals for joint R038;D with India.

The new Labour regime is also aware of the much improved India-Australia relationship, which had deteriorated after the 1998 Indian nuclear tests. The recent Muhammad Haneef controversy also did some damage to the otherwise cordial relationship between the two countries. Australia would look to build on the rapprochement under way since Howard8217;s visit in July 2000. Both sides have signed a Trade and Economic Framework to strengthen commercial relations in energy, mining, tourism, biotechnology, infrastructure, education, entertainment, textile and agriculture. India is the sixth largest export destination for Australian goods, making it the eighth largest investor in India. The Indian presence in Australia has also increased in the last few years. As per the 2006 Australian census, Hindi along with Mandarin has become the fastest growing language in proportional terms, doubling since 1996. Now there are around 1,47,000 Indian-born people living in Australia, compared to over 77,000 in 1996.

Endowed with such momentum, India-Australia ties cannot be allowed to suffer any more setbacks. Australia under Rudd has to balance its priorities between India and China. One hopes that while in power, Australia8217;s new generation leader may feel encouraged to alter old thinking to blend with the hard realities of international relations.

The writer is research fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Brisbane a.misragriffith.edu.au