Cebu (Philippines), Oct 28: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday met US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in Cebu, Philippines, on the sidelines of the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), ANI reported.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

In a post on X, Rajnath Singh said: "Had an excellent meeting with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the side-lines of the 13th ADMM-Plus. We reviewed the progress of our 10-year India-US Defence Framework, driving strategic convergence across military technology, information sharing, and co-production. Our robust partnership continues to be a cornerstone for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific."

Source: Devdiscourse (ANI)

Hegseth, posting about the same meeting on X, said: "Great meeting with Indian Minister of Defence Singh. We celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Framework for our Major Defence Partnership and explored ways to strengthen cooperation." The framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership was signed by the two leaders in 2025 and, according to the Ministry of Defence, provides a unified vision and policy direction to deepen defence cooperation over the next 10 years.

Rajnath Singh is leading the Indian delegation at the 13th ADMM-Plus in Cebu from October 28 to 29. He will address the forum on 'Exchange of Views on Regional and International Security Issues' and is holding bilateral meetings with counterparts from participating countries, including the United States, Japan and Australia, to review ongoing defence ties and explore ways to strengthen strategic partnerships.

ADMM-Plus is ASEAN's highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism, bringing together the 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 in the region.