India and Australia should collaborate, and a burden sharing approach between the two countries will be a good strategy to ensure security and stability in the Western Indian Ocean, Kate O’Shaughnessy, research director at the Perth USAsia Centre, a foreign policy think tank focused on Indo-Pacific strategy, said.
In an interaction with The Hindu, she pointed out that China is expanding its economic, security, and political presence in the western Indian Ocean Island States like Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, and Madagascar.
Ms. Kate, who was an Australian diplomat for 16 years, also pointed out the key areas of collaboration to strengthen ties with the western Indian Ocean Island States.
A trilateral collaboration between India, Australia, and France can be worked out to shore up the security of critical infrastructure like undersea cable, she pointed out.
Ms. Kate, who also served as Australia’s high commissioner to Mauritius and Seychelles and was an ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros, said another potential area was to help the island States in managing their fishery stocks.
Another focus area is offering vocational training, she said.
Both India and Australia have expertise in training. They can look at providing scholarships and in-country training. This would make the region fundamentally strong and help build relationships and create better understanding with the Island States, Ms. Kate said.
Another area is helping them tackle the climate change issue, she added.
