Kuala Lumpur, Oct 31: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Malaysian counterpart Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin in Kuala Lumpur on Friday to discuss measures for further strengthening the India–Malaysia 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 following the meeting.
The bilateral talks were held on the sidelines of the 19th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). Singh is in Malaysia for a two-day visit to participate in the meetings. The second ASEAN-India Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting, chaired by Malaysia, is also being held to enhance security cooperation among ASEAN member states and India under the Act East Policy, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Earlier in the day, Singh held a high-level meeting with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, during which both leaders signed a landmark 10-year “Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership”, marking a significant step forward in bilateral defence ties.
“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,” Singh stated on X.
The ADMM serves as the highest defence consultative mechanism of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while ADMM-Plus includes eight dialogue partners — India, the US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. Under the ADMM-Plus framework, India currently co-chairs the Experts’ Working Group on Counter Terrorism with Malaysia for 2024–2027, and the second ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise is scheduled for 2026.
