"Explore new avenues to strengthen strategic partnerships": Rajnath Singh leaves for ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Philippines

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday left New Delhi for Cebu, Philippines, to attend the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), scheduled to be held from October 28 to 29, where he will address regional and international security issues.

In a post on X, Rajnath Singh said, "The ADMM-Plus remains the premier platform for defence and strategic consultations in the region."

"I look forward to addressing the forum on our shared regional and international security issues. India is firmly committed to ASEAN centrality and the peace, stability, and collective growth of the Indo-Pacific region under our Act East Policy," he added.


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The Defence Minister also said he would hold several bilateral meetings with his counterparts from participating nations during the visit.

"These interactions will be a great opportunity to review our ongoing defence ties and explore new avenues to strengthen our strategic partnerships," he said.

According to a Ministry of Defence press release issued on Monday, Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation at the 13th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Cebu from October 28 to 29. He will address the forum on 'Exchange of Views on Regional and International Security Issues'.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Defence Minister will hold bilateral discussions with his counterparts from participating countries to review existing defence cooperation and explore ways to further strengthen strategic partnerships.

The ministry stated that the ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism within ASEAN, while ADMM-Plus provides a platform for ASEAN member states and their eight Dialogue Partners, including India, the United States, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, to strengthen security and defence cooperation.

The 11 ASEAN member states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

India became a dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992, while the inaugural ADMM-Plus meeting was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam, on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus ministers have been meeting annually to bolster defence cooperation between ASEAN and its Dialogue Partners.

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

The Ministry of Defence said India's active participation in ADMM-Plus mechanisms underscores the deepening of defence diplomacy in Southeast Asia under the Act East Policy, aimed at ensuring peace, stability and collective growth in the region.