Indian Navy chief to visit Australia, New Zealand to strengthen maritime cooperation

New Delhi: The chief of the naval staff, Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, will begin an official visit to Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday as the Indian Navy looks to deepen operational cooperation with both maritime partners. His engagements will focus on interoperability, information sharing, training and professional exchanges, alongside discussions on maritime capabilities, emerging technologies and professional military education.

Admiral Swaminathan, who took over as the 27th chief of the naval staff on May 31, will meet senior naval and defence leaders in both countries and visit key operational and training establishments. The Indian Navy has not announced any new agreement, exercise or deployment specifically linked to the visit.

In Australia, the Navy chief will hold discussions with senior Royal Australian Navy and Australian defence leadership to review existing cooperation and explore ways to strengthen operational interaction, interoperability and information sharing. Training, personnel exchanges, maritime capabilities and emerging technologies will also feature in the talks.

The visit follows the Third India-Australia Annual Summit, held in Melbourne on July 9, where the two countries adopted a renewed Joint declaration on defence and security cooperation. The declaration provides for more complex defence exercises, greater interoperability and information sharing, aircraft deployments from each other’s territories and deeper personnel exchanges and training.

It also builds on the Second India-Australia defence ministers’ dialogue, held in New Delhi on June 1. The two sides discussed the maritime security collaboration roadmap, maritime domain awareness, undersea domain awareness and measures to improve procedural interoperability during exercises and operations.

Naval cooperation already includes the bilateral AUSINDEX exercise. Its 2025 edition involved HMAS Ballarat and INS Sahyadri conducting surface and air warfare drills, seamanship, aviation operations and personnel exchanges.

New Zealand engagement follows strategic partnership

Admiral Swaminathan will subsequently travel to New Zealand for discussions with senior Royal New Zealand Navy and defence leadership. The engagements will focus on operational interaction, information sharing, training and professional exchanges, with visits also planned to operational and training establishments.

The visit follows a July 10-11 visit to New Zealand by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, during which the two countries elevated bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopted a Roadmap to 2030. Defence and maritime security form part of that roadmap, which provides for exercises, unit visits, personnel exchanges, staff-college links and regular defence engagement.

The naval chief’s visit also follows the second India-New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue, held in Wellington on August 24. The two sides reviewed maritime security, joint military training, personnel exchanges and implementation of the defence objectives set out in the Strategic Partnership Roadmap.

Maritime arrangement expands practical cooperation

India and New Zealand also concluded a memorandum of arrangement on maritime cooperation during Modi’s July visit. The arrangement provides a framework for maritime dialogue, coordination, information exchange and joint activities, including bilateral naval engagement.

Separate arrangements cover hydrography and nautical cartography and reciprocal logistics support during approved activities and operations. The two governments have also agreed to establish an annual maritime security dialogue.

The two navies have already worked together in multinational settings. During New Zealand’s command of Combined Task Force 150 in 2025, India provided the deputy commander and other personnel for operations aimed at countering narcotics trafficking, terrorism and other illicit maritime activity in the Western Indian Ocean and Middle East.