Jaishankar Highlights India's Security Concerns In Talks With Australian Counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong discussed various geopolitical issues, ongoing conflicts, and India's 'security concerns,' the MEA said on Thursday.

New Delhi also alleged that Canada blocked an Australian media outlet hours after it broadcast a joint press conference addressed by Jaishankar and Wong in Australia in Canberra.

Jaishankar, who wrapped his five day official visit to Australia from Nov. 3 on Thursday, during the joint press briefing with Wong fielded questions on the Brampton temple incident and the overall escalation in diplomatic row between India and Canada.

In New Delhi, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, during a media briefing, said that social media handles and pages of an Australian media outlet have been 'blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada.'

Jaiswal said Canada blocked the Australian media outlet 'Australia Today' hours after it broadcast the Jaishankar-Wong joint press conference.

Responding to a query during the joint press briefing, Jaishankar also accused Ottawa of developing a 'pattern of making allegations without providing specifics.'

In Canada's Brampton, protestors carrying Khalistani flags clashed with people at the Hindu Sabha temple and disrupted an event co-organised by the temple authorities and the Indian Consulate on Sunday.

Asked if the Canada issue was discussed in his meeting with Wong, Jaiswal said, the external affairs minister “did discuss all our security concerns that we have with Australia.”

“The external affairs minister had a meeting with Australia's foreign minister when they attended the India-Australia Foreign Ministers' Framework Dialogue on Tuesday,” Jaiswal said.

“And, as part of the dialogue, the external affairs minister did discuss all our security concerns that we have with Australia. So, I would like to confirm for you,” he said.

The MEA spokesperson, however, did not explicitly mention if the ongoing row with Canada and the associated core concerns of India figured in their talks.

Earlier, describing the Hindu temple incident in Brampton as “deeply concerning,” Jaishankar on Tuesday said that in a way the “political space” is being given to “extremist forces” in Canada.

In a statement, the MEA described Jaishankar’s fifth visit to Australia in less than three years and the second in 2024 as the continuation of the regular high-level contacts between the two sides and said it “reflects mutual commitment to further deepen the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”

In Canberra, the EAM called on Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday and discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest, the MEA statement said.

Jaishankar also held meetings with Australia’s political leadership, including Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, and Leader of Opposition Peter Dutton apart from having interactions with members of the Parliamentary Friends of India in Canberra, it said.

Earlier on Thursday, while addressing CEOs and business leaders in Australia at Sydney, Jaishankar said, the world would be moving to a much more integrated global workplace prompting many countries, including the US, to make a distinction in immigration and mobility.

It will be the Corporates that will decide whether the talent goes to the business or the business goes to the talent, Jaishankar said as he harped on mobility of talent and skills during a meeting with the CEOs and business leaders in Australia.

The election result in the US would help accelerate the reordering of supply chains which is already taking place in India, he said.

Jaishankar was also optimistic about how, politics notwithstanding, the world will be greener even if the pace of the greening of the economy may vary.

Later, Jaishankar also met members of the diaspora, MPs and friends of India at New South Wales Parliament in Sydney.

“Thanked the Indian community for their active contribution in energising India-Australia partnership,” Jaishankar said.

He also participated in a discussion with foreign affairs and strategy experts at the Lowy Institute, an independent think tank in Sydney.

The MEA statement also said that in Brisbane, the EAM inaugurated the Consulate General of India, in the presence of the Governor of Queensland, Jeanette Young. He also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney; participated in roundtables with business/investors and the Lowy Institute in Sydney; visited the University of Queensland, and Australia’s Humanitarian Logistics Capability (HLC) warehouse for HADR supplies to the Pacific in Brisbane.

Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of New Zealand Winston Peters in Canberra on the sidelines of an event on Nov. 6 in Canberra, it added.