India and Australia Launch PACTS: What This New Partnership Means

India and Australia have started a new partnership called PACTS. The name stands for Partnership on Cyber, Critical Technologies and Supply Chains. In simple words, it's an agreement between the two countries to work together on things like online security, important new technologies, and making sure they don't run out of key supplies they both depend on.

This announcement came as part of a bigger defence and security agreement signed between the Prime Ministers of both countries in 2026.

Why Are India and Australia Doing This?

Both countries already share a close relationship. Back in 2020, they set up something called a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which is basically a long-term promise to work closely together on defence, trade, and diplomacy. Since then, ties between the two nations have grown stronger, and PACTS is one more step in that direction.

The two countries say the world is going through an uncertain and unstable period, and they want to protect the region from threats to peace and security. Instead of letting disputes turn into conflict, both sides say they want problems solved peacefully and fairly, following international law.

What Does PACTS Actually Cover?

PACTS isn't a brand-new idea built from scratch. It actually replaces an older agreement, the 2020 Framework Arrangement on Cyber and Cyber Enabled Critical Technology Cooperation, and builds on top of it. In other words, India and Australia already had a working relationship in this space going back two decades, and PACTS is meant to take that relationship and make it bigger, more structured, and more ambitious.

The reasoning behind it is fairly direct. Both governments see cyber security, emerging technology, and supply chains as things that shape not just national security, but also economic growth and even global values and norms. Rather than treat these as separate issues, they've decided to fold them into one coordinated partnership.

To keep that partnership organised, PACTS is built around five separate focus areas, or as the declaration calls them, pillars.

Supply Chain Resilience and Diversification This pillar is about reducing dependence on any single source for critical goods. It includes building a shared framework for trusted vendors, working together on secure undersea internet cables through the Quad's cable connectivity initiative, cooperating on semiconductor supply chains, and securing supply routes for critical minerals, resources that matter enormously for defence, electronics, and clean energy.

Critical Technology This pillar zeroes in on some of the most sensitive tech areas today: artificial intelligence, space technology, telecommunications, biotechnology, and advanced materials. Both countries say they want to help set global standards for AI that is safe, trustworthy, and developed through open, democratic processes, rather than dictated by any single power. They also plan to expand joint research and look into shared space projects.

Cybersecurity Here, the focus is on building a simpler, more direct channel between the two countries for handling cyber and IT-related issues. This includes cooperating within United Nations cyber frameworks, holding deeper talks on data governance, encouraging more trade and investment in cyber technology, running joint training workshops, and setting up what's being called a cyber skills incubator hub, essentially a shared space to train and exchange talent in cybersecurity.

Digital Resilience This pillar centers on India's Digital Public Infrastructure model, the kind of large-scale digital systems India has built for things like identity verification and payments, and extending similar tools across the wider Indo-Pacific region. Areas mentioned include clean energy, healthcare, education, and social protection, with both countries planning pilot projects to test digital systems that can be adapted to local needs in different countries.

Defence Research Collaboration The final pillar connects Australia's Defence Science and Technology Group with India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It's meant to deepen research ties between the two institutions, link up defence-focused startups and innovation hubs on both sides, and direct joint research toward maritime surveillance and advanced materials used in defence technology.

Who Is Actually Running This Partnership?

PACTS will be jointly led by two senior officials, the Australian Deputy Secretary of the International and Security Group within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and India's Deputy National Security Advisor. Beyond that, the two countries have committed to an annual Senior Officials' Meeting, where they'll track progress, evaluate new or emerging risks in cyber and tech spaces, and decide on specific projects to take up under each of the five pillars.

Part of a Much Bigger Defence Agreement

PACTS isn't a standalone deal. It sits inside a larger joint declaration where both countries promised to deepen their defence relationship overall. This includes bigger joint military exercises, more aircraft visits between each other's territories, closer coordination between their armed forces, and even cooperation on training and recruiting skilled defence workers.

The declaration also covers maritime security, meaning protecting shipping routes and ocean territory, something that matters a lot given how much both countries rely on open seas for trade.

There are other commitments too. Both nations agreed to increase intelligence sharing on terrorism, work together during natural disasters, support women's roles in peacekeeping efforts, and continue existing programs to fight human trafficking and irregular migration.

Why It Matters for the Region

India and Australia are both key players in the Indo-Pacific region, an area that includes countries around the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Both nations say they want this region to stay open, peaceful, and stable, with no single country pushing others around.

As part of that goal, they've also said they'll keep working closely with the United States and Japan, and continue supporting existing regional groups like the Quad, ASEAN, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association.

PACTS is essentially India and Australia deciding to team up on the technology and security challenges of the coming years, from cyberattacks to supply chain risks, rather than facing them separately. It's a sign that both countries see the next big battlegrounds as being digital and economic, not just military, and they'd rather tackle those challenges together.

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