India and Australia deepen ties on Modi visit, covering missile test concerns and space tracking

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three‑day visit to Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised concerns about China’s recent submarine‑launched ballistic missile test in the Pacific. Australian officials described the launch as "destabilising" and warned it could undermine regional peace and stability, noting the missile traversed the exclusive economic zones of Micronesia, Nauru, Kiribati and Tuvalu.

In the same meetings, Albanese announced that Australia will host a temporary space‑tracking terminal on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands to support India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme. The facility will aid the mission’s crew‑module recovery, complementing recent ISRO parachute‑system tests that qualified the main parachute for the upcoming uncrewed flight. Both leaders highlighted the growing strategic and technological partnership between the two democracies.