Rajnath Singh Meets US, Japan, Singapore Ministers at ADMM-Plus Cebu
Why in the news
On 28 October 2026, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu, Philippines.
Key facts
| Counterpart | Main outcomes |
|---|---|
| USA – Secretary of War Pete Hegseth | Reviewed the 10-year India-US Defence Framework (military technology, information sharing, co-production) |
| Japan – Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi | Naval mine countermeasures, joint design and building of naval ships; faster preparation for the 4th 2+2 |
| Singapore – Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing | More joint exercises across all three services; invitation to Aero India 2027 |
| Australia – Deputy PM and Defence Minister Richard Marles | Bilateral meeting on the sidelines |
- India-US: The 10-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership was signed by Singh and Hegseth in Kuala Lumpur on 31 October 2025.
- India-Japan: The 4th India-Japan 2+2 and a defence ministers’ meeting are to be held in Tokyo later in 2026. Japanese fighter jets visited India for the first time during exercise Veer Guardian 26.
- India-Singapore: Singh called Singapore a key pillar of India’s Act East Policy and congratulated it on taking the ADMM-Plus chair for 2027.
- Aero India 2027 will be held in Bengaluru in February 2027.
About ADMM-Plus
ADMM-Plus is a forum where ASEAN defence ministers meet their counterparts from partner countries such as India, the USA, Japan and Australia. India stressed its support for ASEAN centrality and a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
Exam angle
- 13th ADMM-Plus venue: Cebu, Philippines; next chair (2027): Singapore.
- India-US 10-year defence framework: signed October 2025, Kuala Lumpur.
- Japan’s Defence Minister: Shinjiro Koizumi; exercise Veer Guardian is India-Japan air forces.