Rajnath Singh leaves for Philippines to attend 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday left New Delhi for Cebu in the Philippines to attend the 13th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), scheduled to be held from October 28 to 29, with a focus on regional and international security issues.

Singh will lead the Indian delegation at the two-day meeting and address the forum on shared regional and international security issues.

Sharing details of his visit, the Defence Minister said India remained committed to strengthening regional security cooperation, promoting ASEAN centrality and ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region under its Act East Policy.

“During my visit, I will also be holding several bilateral meetings with my counterparts from participating nations. These interactions will be a great opportunity to review our ongoing defence ties and explore new avenues to strengthen our strategic partnerships,” the Defence Minister posted on X.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism within ASEAN. The ADMM-Plus brings together the 11 ASEAN member states, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam and eight Dialogue Partners: India, the United States, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

India became a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN in 1992, while the inaugural ADMM-Plus meeting was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, the defence ministers participating in the forum have been meeting annually to strengthen defence cooperation between ASEAN member states and the eight partner countries.

The Philippines is chairing the ADMM-Plus in 2026. India is also co-chairing the Experts Working Group on Counter-Terrorism with Malaysia for the 2024-2027 cycle.

India’s participation in the forum reflects its continued engagement with Southeast Asian countries on defence and strategic issues, as well as its efforts to deepen regional partnerships under the Act East Policy.

The ADMM-Plus provides a platform for participating countries to exchange views on common security challenges and strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest. India’s engagement in the mechanism underscores its commitment to regional peace, stability and collective growth across the Indo-Pacific.

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