India, Australia look forward to bilateral naval engagements

New Delhi: India and Australia will look to conducting their first bilateral naval engagement with satisfactory conclusion of talks aimed at enhancing cooperation in maritime defence with visiting Australian defence minister Stephen Smith.

Both sides discussed the situation in the South China Sea and agreed that all maritime disputes should be resolved by the involved nations as well as regional powers that have a stake in the matter.

Smith said the two sides share the view that territorial disputes should be solved within the framework of international law as they could be the source of potential misunderstanding or miscalculation.

Smith said the focus of his visit was to increase bilateral cooperation and a proposal for bilateral naval exercise had been well received.