New Delhi, October 26: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation at the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu, Philippines, on October 28 and 29, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.
Singh will address the forum on ‘Exchange of Views on Regional and International Security Issues’. On the sidelines, he will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from participating countries to review defence ties and look at ways to strengthen strategic partnerships.
About the forum
The ADMM is ASEAN’s highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism. ADMM-Plus brings together the ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam) and eight dialogue partners (India, the US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation.
India became an ASEAN dialogue partner in 1992. The first ADMM-Plus was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on October 12, 2010, and the ministers have met every year since 2017.
India’s role
The Philippines chairs ADMM-Plus for 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 said India’s participation is part of its defence engagement with South-East Asia under the Act East policy.
Related: Rajnath Singh asks SCO members to dismantle the ecosystem of terrorism