US-China tension can give way to India-Australia partnerships on critical technology – opinion piece

Read an opinion piece written by ASPI’s Danielle Cave, Jocelinn Kang and Aakriti Bachhawat and co-authored with colleagues from India’s Observer Research Foundation Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan and Trisha Ray in Indian newspaper ThePrint. This article is based on the ASPI-ORF report: Critical technologies and the Indo-Pacific: A new India-Australia partnership:

“While the Covid-19 pandemic has damaged economies and profoundly affected people’s health and wellbeing, it has also highlighted our dependence on technology and the extent to which we’ll rely on the next wave of technologies to drive future prosperity.

Covid-19 has also accelerated strategic competition between nations, particularly the US and China. Much of that competition centres on technology and data: Who owns and controls it? How is it being used? What rules, norms and standards are different countries abiding by?

This competition is quickly spilling over into international forums, including standards-setting bodies, and it’s throwing up new challenges to global technology companies. It’s also leading to new partnerships and presenting opportunities to deepen existing partnerships, as countries find more commonalities in the multitude of technological challenges they face. More opportunities are arising—and arising quickly—for practical cooperation to help deal with these challenges.

One such opportunity—and partnership—is the India–Australia relationship, which is rapidly becoming one of the most important pillars of the Indo-Pacific.”

Read the article here.