New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) The Australian envoy here hasasserted that India and Australia are "champions" of theinternational rules-based order which, she claimed, is comingunder increasing pressure from issues such as China's actionin the South China Sea.
Delivering the annual Alfred Deakin Lecture here lastnight, Australian High Commissioner Harinder Sidhu also saidthe "shift of global power" from the West to the East is oneof the megatrends, well underway.
Right now, the Indo-Pacific is witnessing the "greatestshift" in power relativities in the world.
Economic success that presents opportunities for growthand prosperity also translates into larger strategicinvestments in the Indo-Pacific, she said.
"It is easy to see how developments such as these cangenerate uncertainty, anxiety and a risk of miscalculation.
This is why Australia and India are such champions of theinternational rules-based order," Sidhu said.
A copy of her speech was released by the Australian HighCommission today.
"This is an order that has been underpinned by sharedvalues of freedom and liberty and the principles ofinternational law, agreed mechanisms to resolve disputes and arespect for the sovereign equality of all states - whether bigor small," she said.
"It is in our shared interest to see this internationalorder endure," the envoy said, while delivering the lecture on'Australia and India – natural partners in an uncertainworld'.
"However, it is coming under increasing pressure. Forinstance, China's actions in the South China Sea areconfronting the rules we have lived by for decades. NorthKorea's continued missile testing is raising risks tostability in the region," the envoy said.
A "narrow conception" of national interests is driving amore transactional approach to negotiations and an inclinationtoward unilateral action, Sidhu said.
"Like India, Australia is committed to supporting theUnited Nations system and regional forums such as the EastAsia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum and IORA," she added.
But it is increasingly clear that these forums have theirconstraints and are not usually quick enough to coordinateresponses to the "challenges we are facing", she said. "So, weneed some imaginative diplomacy," the envoy added.
On trade ties, the High Commissioner said, at thebilateral level, "we remain committed to Free Trade Agreementsincluding to concluding a Comprehensive Economic CooperationAgreement(CECA) with India".
"Beyond the CECA, we need to look at all the ways thatour two countries can build our economic relationship for thefuture. Prime Minister Turnbull has commissioned thedevelopment of an India Economic Strategy," she said.
During her speech at the Australia India Institute, theenvoy also touched upon several other points, includingprotectionism and trade liberalisation, climate change andwomen rights.
"India and Australia share a commitment to advancinggender equality in all aspects of life - in politics, inbusiness, in education and at home," she asserted.
"Indians and Australians genuinely look at the worldthrough a similar lens. This creates an important foundationfor us to cooperate and build a shared future in a world thatis prosperous, stable and secure," she said. PTI KNDSMN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.