Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently on a tour of Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand, aimed at strengthening India’s foothold in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China. The tour began with India delivering a major jolt to China by finalizing a BrahMos missile deal with Indonesia, and India is now set to challenge another sector long dominated by China through cooperation with Australia.
PM Modi is scheduled to hold a bilateral summit with Australian PM Anthony Albanese in Melbourne on Thursday. The high-profile meeting is expected to see both nations sign agreements on defense, maritime security, trade, and crucially, rare earth minerals and uranium supply. These minerals are essential for manufacturing electric vehicles, smartphones, semiconductors, and defense equipment worldwide, a sector where China currently holds near-total monopoly. China’s recent export restrictions on these minerals have caused difficulties for India and other nations, making the upcoming India-Australia deal a significant blow to China’s mineral dominance.
A uranium export agreement is also high on the agenda. Though India and Australia signed a nuclear cooperation pact back in 2014, uranium supply has remained limited due to restrictions confining its use to peaceful purposes and power generation. Australian PM Albanese has indicated that the upcoming talks will bring key announcements to expand this supply. India is Australia’s 5th largest trading partner, and around one million people of Indian origin live there.
Ahead of this leg of the tour, India’s diplomatic win in Indonesia has already unsettled China. Talks between PM Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta resulted in a historic understanding covering the sale of the indigenous Astra missile and supply of BrahMos cruise missiles — India’s third missile export agreement in Southeast Asia. Indonesia holds strategic control over key global shipping routes including the Malacca, Lombok, Sunda, and Ombai-Wetar straits. As the US appears to be stepping back from its Indo-Pacific strategy, Modi’s personal push to strengthen ties with Pacific nations is drawing global attention. After securing the BrahMos deal in Indonesia and rare earth/uranium agreements with Australia, Modi will become the first Indian PM to visit New Zealand in 40 years, arriving there on Friday.