Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu, Philippines, ANI reported. The discussions focused on defence cooperation, military interoperability and regional security challenges.
Source: ANI via LatestLY
In a post on X, Singh said: "Delighted to meet Australia's Deputy PM & Defence Minister, Mr. @RichardMarlesMP, on the sidelines of the ADMM-Plus meeting today. We had productive discussions on reviewing our bilateral defence cooperation, enhancing military interoperability, and addressing regional security challenges." He added: "India places great value on its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia for a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific." The post is Singh's own account of the meeting, reported by ANI.
Source: ANI via LatestLY
Both leaders exchanged gifts, and Singh invited Marles to attend Aero India-2027, scheduled to be held in Bengaluru in February 2027, New Kerala reported in its coverage of the same ANI report.
Source: New Kerala (ANI)
Singh is leading the Indian delegation at the 13th ADMM-Plus in Cebu from October 28 to 29 and will address the forum on 'Exchange of Views on Regional and International Security Issues', ANI reported. Earlier the same day, he met US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in Cebu to review the 10-year India-US defence framework — a separate meeting covered separately by Awaaz Punjab.
ADMM is ASEAN's highest defence consultative mechanism. ADMM-Plus brings 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, according to the ANI report carried by Desi Talk Chicago.
Source: ANI via Desi Talk Chicago