Rajnath Singh Leaves for the Philippines to Attend the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus

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

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,” Singh said in a post on X.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the ADMM is ASEAN’s highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism. The ADMM-Plus brings together the 11 ASEAN member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam — along with 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, defence ministers participating in the forum have met 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, alongside 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.