Rajnath Singh Heads to Kuala Lumpur for 12th ADMM-Plus, Charts India-ASEAN Defence Ties
India boosts defence ties with 18 nations.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh heads to Kuala Lumpur on October 31 for the 12th ADMM-Plus, addressing 15 years of the forum and charting future security cooperation among ASEAN's 10 members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and 8 dialogue partners including India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. The meeting will review joint exercises, intelligence sharing, and disaster response mechanisms developed since the platform’s inception in Hanoi in 2010.
On the sidelines, Singh will chair the second ASEAN-India Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting on October 31 under Malaysia’s leadership, followed by bilateral talks with counterparts and Malaysia’s top leadership to deepen strategic partnerships under India’s Act East Policy. Discussions will focus on co-developing defence tech, expanding training programs, and securing sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific amid rising regional tensions.
India co-chairs the ADMM-Plus Experts Working Group on Counter-Terrorism with Malaysia through 2027, marking its first leadership role in the group, while the second ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise is set for 2026 with live-fire drills and anti-submarine warfare components. The first edition in 2023 saw Indian Navy ships INS Satpura and INS Delhi operate with ASEAN fleets.
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The annual ADMM-Plus, held since 2017, strengthens defence collaboration across seven expert working groups covering counter-terrorism, maritime security, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, military medicine, cyber security, and humanitarian mine action among the 18-nation bloc. India has contributed over 1,500 troops to joint exercises and hosted multiple tabletop drills.
Singh’s two-day visit aims to elevate India-ASEAN defence ties, building on the inaugural ADMM-Plus in 2010 and India’s dialogue partner status since 1992. Outcomes may include a new roadmap for 2030 cooperation, increased Indian defence exports to ASEAN, and joint production of munitions and surveillance systems under Make in India initiatives.
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