Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is visiting the Philippines to strengthen India’s defense diplomacy. Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation to the 13th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting ADMM-Plus to be held in Cebu, Philippines on October 28 and 29. The meeting will discuss important issues like regional security, cooperation against terrorism and defense partnership. Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh will also hold a bilateral meeting with defense ministers of many countries. Meanwhile, Singh has met US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth.

Pete Hegseth has shared the picture of this meeting with Rajnath Singh on social media. He said in his post, ‘My meeting with India’s Defense Minister Singh was very good. We celebrated the first anniversary of our core defense partnership framework and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation.

Great meeting with India’s Defense Minister Singh.

We celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Framework for our Core Defense Partnership and explored ways to strengthen cooperation.

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 28, 2026

Posted by Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh also posted on social media saying, ‘During the 13th ADMM-Plus, I had a wonderful meeting with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. We reviewed the progress made in the Indo-US 10-year defense framework, which is promoting strategic synergy in the areas of military technology, information sharing and co-production. Our strong partnership continues to be the cornerstone for a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region.

Had a great meeting on the sidelines of the 13th ADMM-plus with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

We reviewed the progress of our 10-year India-US Defense Framework, which drives strategic convergence across military technologies, information sharing and co-production. Our strong partnership continues to be the cornerstone for a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific. @SecWar

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) October 28, 2026

There will also be talks with defense ministers of other countries

The meeting is considered important to further strengthen defense cooperation between India and ASEAN countries. Apart from this, Rajnath Singh will also talk to defense ministers of other countries.

A platform for strengthening defense cooperation

ADMM-Plus is an important platform for defense and security cooperation among ASEAN countries and their eight dialogue partners. It includes America, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand along with India. On this platform, member states discuss ways to work together on issues such as terrorism, maritime security and regional stability.

Rajnath Singh is leading India

Rajnath Singh is leading the Indian delegation to the 13th Defense Ministers’ Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be held in Cebu, Philippines from October 28 to 29. He will address the forum on ‘Exchange of views on regional and international security issues’.

Regarding his visit, the Defense Minister said that India is committed to strengthening regional security cooperation under its ‘Act East Policy’, promoting ASEAN’s central role and ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. During the visit, I will also hold several bilateral meetings with my counterparts from participating countries. These meetings will prove to be an important platform to review existing defense ties and explore new opportunities to further strengthen strategic partnership.

India became a dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992. The first ADMM-Plus meeting was held on 12 October 2010 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Since 2017, defense ministers of this forum meet annually to discuss strengthening regional defense cooperation. ADMM-Plus is being chaired by the Philippines in the year 2026.