(JAKARTA, INDONESIA) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has moved to strengthen ties with key partners across the Indo-Pacific region, signing a series of defence and economic agreements during a three nation tour. The diplomatic push comes as China expands its military and economic reach and as uncertainty lingers over the future role of the United States in the region.
During the trip, Modi agreed to sell supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles to Indonesia and broadened India’s partnership with Australia in areas including defence, energy and critical minerals. The agreements were reached against a backdrop of rising security tensions, sharpened by China’s recent test of a ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Bloomberg reported that the deals reflect a wider regional desire to strengthen independent security and economic cooperation. Washington has been urging allies to assume greater responsibility for their own defence, while Beijing continues to deepen its influence through infrastructure investment, military modernisation and assertive territorial claims.
Ashok Malik, head of India affairs at the Asia Group, said China’s emergence as the leading power in the Indo-Pacific is creating new conditions and that countries are responding. He noted that states are increasingly joining forces in defence, maritime security, semiconductor production and critical mineral supply chains, seeking to reduce dependence on both China and the United States.
During his visit to Australia, Modi discussed China’s ballistic missile test with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri said the two sides expressed concern over the situation and reaffirmed their intention to deepen cooperation to maintain peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
The tour also builds on India’s broader economic ambitions. Modi recently opened a new oil refinery in the state of Rajasthan, the country’s first new refinery in a decade. The facility has a capacity of 180,000 barrels per day and includes a petrochemical complex capable of producing 2.4 million tonnes per year. The project cost amounted to 8.3 billion US dollars, which is equivalent to approximately 6.6 billion British pounds at current exchange rates.
According to BloombergNEF estimates, this may be the only new oil refinery commissioned anywhere in the world this year. Analysts expect India to become the global leader in oil refining capacity growth between 2026 and 2030, providing over 1 million barrels per day of new capacity by the end of the decade. That would account for nearly a quarter of the global increase.
The new refinery will operate primarily on imported crude oil and will produce diesel, petrol and petrochemical products. Commercial operations began on 22 June. After the launch, India’s total oil refining capacity rose by roughly 3.5 percent to 5.4 million barrels per day. The country plans to reach 6.2 million barrels per day by 2030.
Modi has made clear that India will continue expanding refining capacity even as the United States and Europe reduce theirs. He noted that over the past five decades no new refinery has been built in the US, while European capacity has steadily declined. India, he said, will keep building.
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