Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation at the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu, Philippines, from October 28 to 29, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday, according to The Hindu BusinessLine and IANS reports.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Singh will address the forum during a session on exchange of views on regional and international security issues, and will hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from participating countries on the sidelines to review ongoing defence ties and explore ways to strengthen strategic partnerships, the ministry said.

The Philippines is the chair of 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.

ADMM-Plus brings together ASEAN member states 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 in 2010, and defence ministers have met annually since 2017, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via HiIndia