In a world struggling to balance between sharp divergences and convergences, the pace with which the Indo-Australian relations have progressed over the years is commendable. India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar recently concluded his Australia visit after holding multi-level interactions with dignitaries. Notably, this was EAM's second visit to Australia this year — he had attended the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in February. India's ties with Australia cover a wide domain including education, defense, cyberspace, water resource management, minerals, governance etc. The basic thread joining the two countries, however, is strategic in nature — entailing a "shared concern about respect for international law and a rules-based order." This is where the interests of the two countries converge so sharply. India's desperation to challenge the growing Chinese hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region is no mystery. What is often understated is Australia's equally rigorous endeavour in this direction, which is evidently no less than by the remaining two Quad partners. More importantly, Australia's engagement in the region is not just based on catchy verbiage but is followed by impactful, steady actions. For instance, the fifth iteration of Australia's flagship naval activity — the Indo-Pacific Endeavor (IPE) — is expected to see bilateral and multilateral engagements of 1,800 Australian Defense Force (ADF) personnel, five naval vessels, and 11 helicopters in 14 countries across Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. This iteration breaks all the previous records. It indicates how dedicated Australia is to counter the Chinese influence in the region. Interestingly, apart from playing a crucial role in the Quad, and holding regular bilateral interactions with India, Australia is making sincere efforts to consolidate small, strategic multilateral groupings to tackle the Chinese rise. Despite apprehensions from Indonesia, Australia has managed to engineer India-Australia-Indonesia trilateral grouping. On similar lines, India-France-Australia trilateral grouping is forged to secure supply chain interests in the region. Though not in the limelight, the cumulative impact of these fragmented engagements will certainly have a profound impact on the geopolitics of the region. Understanding the vitality of India in the region, Australia has carefully placed it at the fulcrum of multiple engagements. Another striking feature of Indo-Australian relation is that it is not just driven by hollow articulation of shared ideas. All multilateral and bilateral engagements are carefully crafted by keeping pragmatic interests like trade and business at centre — many a times without explicitly naming the anti-China approach. Pragmatism will indeed lend durability and reliability to the engagements. When it comes to the core bilateral relations with India, an oft-cited restraint is that of India's soft stance towards Russia, which somehow doesn't sit well with other Quad members, including Australia. India has been explicit and clear in citing the vitality of Indo-Russian ties, particularly the longstanding defence ties. Australia, just like other Quad partners, is fully aware that India cannot be forced to sever its ties with Russia and a balance has to be maintained. The centrality of India in the Indo-Pacific is as such that it cannot be left out. So, Australia is aware that the Russian angle is something it will have to bear with. Again, more than a matter of compromise, it is geopolitical professionalism to carry on with one's interest without intersecting the interests of the other partner. The Russian restraint, so to say, is not a limitation to Indo-Australian relations. Another important aspect of Indo-Australian relations is the way in which these two countries have been backing each other at international forums. India, very recently, supported Australia regarding the AUKUS at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Previously, Australia had also supported India's membership at the National Suppliers Group. This is just the beginning of two strong, like-minded Asian nations coming together with extraordinary trust. Indo-Australian relations appear to have richer prospects in the future. The key will be to keep building on convergences and let divergences recede away in darkness. National interest and mutual trust should define Indo-Australian relations, going forward.