Rajnath Singh, Malaysian counterpart discuss ways to strengthen bilateral defence ties

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 31 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur on Friday, as both discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral defence partnership.

"Had a very good conversation with the Defence Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin in Kuala Lumpur. Discussed ways to further strengthen the India-Malaysia defence partnership," Singh posted on X after the meeting.

The bilateral engagement was held on the sidelines of the 19th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the upcoming 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus).

The second edition of ASEAN-India Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting, under the chairmanship of Malaysia, is also taking place wherein Defence Ministers from all ASEAN member countries will take part. The meeting aims to further strengthen defence and security cooperation among ASEAN member states and India and advance the Act East Policy, the Ministry of Defence stated.

Earlier in the day, Singh met US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in Kuala Lumpur, where the two leaders signed a 10-year ‘Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership’ heralding a new era in deepening the defence ties between the two nations.

“Had a fruitful meeting with my US counterpart Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in Kuala Lumpur. We signed the 10 years ‘Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership’. This will usher in a new era in our already strong defence partnership,” Singh posted on X following the meeting.

“This Defence Framework will provide policy direction to the entire spectrum of the India-US Defence Relationship. It is a signal of our growing strategic convergence and will herald a new decade of partnership,” the post added.

Singh arrived in Malaysia on Thursday for a two-day visit to attend the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). India's High Commissioner to Malaysia, B N Reddy, received Singh at the Subang Airbase.

"ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste & Vietnam) and its eight Dialogue Partners (India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia & New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation," the statement added.

India became an ASEAN dialogue partner in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was held in Vietnam's Hanoi on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus is held annually to strengthen the defence cooperation between ASEAN and plus countries. Under the construct of ADMM-Plus, India is the co-chair of Experts Working Group on Counter Terrorism with Malaysia for the cycle 2024-2027. The second edition of ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise is also scheduled in 2026.

--IANS

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