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India, Australia Agree to Bolster Strategic Ties in Partnership

  • Leaders Modi and Morrison hold their first ‘virtual summit’
  • Meeting took place amid India’s border face off with China
Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison in 2019.

Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison in 2019.

Photographer: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison signed a crucial defense agreement and upgraded ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as both nations navigate fraught relations with China.

The agreement, confirmed by Morrison in his opening remarks of a virtual summit between the leaders on Thursday, may allow the two nations to access each other’s bases and ports and strengthen their defense ties. The Mutual Logistics Support pact is similar to an agreement India signed with the U.S in 2016.