&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Hegseth and Rajnath Singh review defence ties on ADMM-Plus sidelines")
New Delhi: US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu, Philippines. The meeting, which took place on Wednesday, focused on reviewing progress under the Framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership, signed by the two leaders on 31 October 2025 during the previous ADMM-Plus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In a post on X, Hegseth described the bilateral as a “great meeting,” noting that the two sides “celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Framework for our Major Defense Partnership and explored ways to strengthen cooperation.”
Singh, in his own post, called the discussions “excellent” and said they had reviewed the 10-year framework’s progress, “driving strategic convergence across military technology, information sharing, and co-production.” He added that the “robust partnership continues to be a cornerstone for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific.”
The 2025 framework is the latest renewal of a document that has structured US-India defence ties since 2005 and was previously updated in 2015. A US Department of War fact sheet described the latest version as “the most ambitious and wide-ranging document yet", aimed at strengthening interoperability across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace, supporting maritime security, and deepening industrial collaboration, joint exercises and information sharing.
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It builds on foundational agreements such as the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement, the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement.
While broader US-India political relations have faced strains, including trade disputes and differences over other foreign-policy issues, defence cooperation has continued steadily, with regular joint exercises, ongoing equipment deliveries such as Apache helicopters and GE engines for India’s Tejas fighter programme, and growing industrial collaboration.
The talks took place during the 13th ADMM-Plus, hosted by the Philippines in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, on 28–29 October as part of Manila’s 2026 ASEAN chairmanship. The forum brings together the ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners, India, the United States, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, to discuss regional security cooperation. He is also expected to hold further bilateral meetings with counterparts from Vietnam, Australia and other participating countries.
India has long viewed its engagement with ASEAN, under the Act East policy, as central to promoting stability in the Indo-Pacific. The ADMM-Plus remains the region’s primary platform for defence consultations between ASEAN and its external partners, with ministers meeting annually since 2017.
