Representatives from India and Australia met on June 10 to constitute a Joint Working Group (JWG) to initiate dialogue on cyber security cooperation. The JWG meeting initiated one of the action points from the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) that the two countries had signed in June last year. The CSP is aimed at building a regionally coordinated response to COVID-19 and strengthening long-term bilateral cooperation in technological, regional, maritime, and economic sectors. Under the CSP, both nations had included the Framework Arrangement on Cyber and Cyber-Enabled Critical Technology Cooperation and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Mining and Processing of Critical and Strategic Minerals under the goal of enhancing science, technology, and research collaboration. As both nations gear up for the upcoming Cyber Policy Dialogue and the inaugural meeting of JWG on Information, Communication, and Technology, this article outlines how this partnership can strengthen India’s cyber security capabilities, boost its influence in global Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance regimes and enhance its role in critical mineral supply chains.
The critical power infrastructure of Maharashtra in November 2020 was exposed to a sophisticated cyber-attack. Similar attacks on the critical infrastructure, supposedly by China, have also severely impacted the Australian government and essential services including hospitals. Such state-backed cyber-attacks have the potential of bringing nations to a standstill, thereby, making the task of building collaborative technological solutions increasingly important. As mentioned in Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020, the Australian government is looking for international collaboration in holding cyber attackers accountable and building the capabilities of the agencies involved through international partnerships. Australia and India could lead efforts to build a common database with details of such state-backed cyber-attacks to identify patterns of attack, exposure, and vulnerabilities more effectively. This database would be accessible to a closed group of experts that are part of JWG from both countries to conduct patch management exercises.
Australia and India could lead efforts to build a common database with details of such state-backed cyber-attacks to identify patterns of attack, exposure, and vulnerabilities more effectively. This database would be accessible to a closed group of experts that are part of JWG from both countries to conduct patch management exercises.
Australia released their AI Ethics Framework in 2020 and India’s NITI Aayog released Principles for Responsible AI early in 2021. Both countries will have to collaboratively assess the overlaps and inconsistencies between the proposed ethical AI frameworks to build concrete ethical protocols for the development and deployment of significant AI use cases for the two countries. While there is significant convergence in the values outlined within the two frameworks like fairness, transparency, explainability, and so on, Australia’s framework has also proposed the “Principle of Contestability”. Consistent standards will facilitate minimising regulatory barriers like information asymmetry about ethical benchmarks that need to be maintained, which may have impeded start-ups to expand market access in the past. It will also streamline the flow of expertise and data between both economies.
Consensus building on policy risks and priorities of certain use cases might be tricky for India and Australia as they are not at the same stage of development. This might give rise to different motivations to implement certain AI use cases. For instance, Australia may want to prioritise second or third order issues like enhancing education outcomes using AI while India would want to prioritise bolstering digital connectivity for its citizens. Stakeholders from academia, industry, and civil society in both countries could assist the Joint Working Group in identifying priority areas of AI use cases.
Consensus building on policy risks and priorities of certain use cases might be tricky for India and Australia as they are not at the same stage of development. This might give rise to different motivations to implement certain AI use cases
As compared to more advanced economies, India and Australia are lagging in the AI adoption curve. Advanced AI economies are more likely to have a greater say in identifying the priority use cases of AI for development and required ethical trade-offs. The successful identification and implementation of ethical standards by both countries as part of CSP will give them more bargaining power to drive discussions on responsible AI and data governance at the Global Partnership on AI forum. It would also help in actualising their agreement on cooperating in the multilateral fora and establish a strong positioning amongst the global AI leaders.
The electric vehicle (EV) industry is rapidly growing in India. Several states within India have released or implemented policies to bolster the EV industry. Amongst the other raw materials required for manufacturing EVs, Lithium-ion batteries are needed for storing energy. India was until very recently importing Lithium-ion batteries from China, Japan, and South Korea. Due to the recent clashes at the Galwan Valley, India imposed tariffs on China for Lithium imports.
India is now looking at Australia to import Lithium. At present, trade flows between India and Australia are not happening at the optimum level. But Australia is planning to expand its market for exports in Lithium as it does not desire to be dependent on China as a market. India and Australia have planned to sign an MoU on Cooperation in the field of Mining and Processing of Critical and Strategic Minerals as part of the CSP. The partnership also provides an opportunity for both countries to engage in a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to expand investment flows. Both countries had decided to engage in CECA before as well, but these discussions were derailed in 2015 due to Australia’s resistance in making a statement against China by openly extending trade and investment support to India. CECA could be used as an opportunity to demand tax concessions on the procurement of processed elements as a positive reinforcement for sustained investment in rare earth elements by the private sector in India. A few Indian companies have already invested significant capital in technical solutions in Australia in recent years.
After years of stalling efforts to build a long-term partnership, India and Australia took the opportunity presented by the COVID-19 crisis and a trade war between China and the US to expand cooperation across sectors. Adopting the above proposals to facilitate technology cooperation in cybersecurity and AI governance along with expanding trade in critical minerals, Australia and India stand to lead by example for strengthening regional cooperation within the Indo-Pacific region.
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