The 11th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) was conducted from 20th to 22nd November 2024 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The Meeting exchanged views on regional and international security issues in order to strengthen security and defense cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region.
- The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Laos General Chansamone Chanyalath.
- The 11th ADMM-Plus forum consisted of 10 ASEAN countries, 8 Plus countries (dialogue partners) and Timor Leste.
- The 8 dialogue partners include India, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America (USA).
Note: The first ADMM-Plus was held in Hanoi in Vietnam in October 2010 and the meeting is held annually since 2017.
Defense Minister meets Malaysian & Lao PDR counterparts
i.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a series of important bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Laos, and Malaysia on 20th November 2024 with an aim to strengthen defence cooperation and address regional security concerns.
ii.In a meeting with Laos Defence Minister General Chansamone Chanyalath, both the parties discussed ways to further enhance bilateral defence cooperation.
- He also invited the Laos minister to Aero India 2025, scheduled to take place in Bengaluru in February 2025, in order to boost Defence Industry Cooperation between India and Laos.
iii.During the meeting with the Malaysian Defense Minister, both sides agreed to provide support to each other in promoting security and stability in the region.
- Both leaders will be conducting Malaysia-India Defence Committee Meeting in the first quarter of 2025 to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation.
- India and Malaysia currently hold the co-chairmanship of ADMM Plus Expert Working Group on Counter Terrorism.
Rajnath Singh meets Asia-Pacific counterparts
i.Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh conducted discussions with counterparts from the US, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Australia, Japan and the Philippines.
ii.He met with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin to review progress in the India-US defence partnership and discusses upon the areas such as defence operations, information sharing, and industrial innovation.
- They also discussed upon various advancements under the US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, including joint efforts in co-producing jet engines, munitions, and ground mobility systems.
- Both leaders agreed to promote defence innovation through the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem.
iii.In a separate meeting with Japanese Defence Minister General Nakatani, both the parties focused on enhancing India-Japan partnership in promoting a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region and enhanced cooperation in co-production and co-development in the defence manufacturing sector.
- Reciprocal Provision of Supply and Services Agreement between the two countries and participation of militaries in various bilateral and multilateral exercises were also discussed to strengthen improve inter-operability between the Indian and Japanese forces.
iv.During the meeting, Philippines was welcomed by Rajnath Singh as country coordinator for India in ASEAN and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) – Plus forum for 2025.
- Both countries agreed to expand and deepen cooperation in exchange of subject matter experts, defence industry, counter-terrorism, space and maritime domain.
v.In his meeting with South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun, he invited South Korean companies to invest in India’s defense corridors, offering tremendous opportunities for co-production and co-development.
- Both the countries focused upon strengthening of bilateral defense cooperation, to address common challenges and threats faced by both nations.
vi.In his meeting with New Zealand’s Defense Minister Judith Collins, both countries discussed to strengthen ties based on shared democratic values, institutions, and a common vision for a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
- Both parties also agreed to enhance collaboration in shipbuilding sector.
India, China agrees to rebuild mutual trust in the meet
i.Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun held a meeting and agreed to rebuild mutual trust and understanding.
- This was the first meeting of the two Defence Ministers after Indian and Chinese militaries completed disengagement of troops.
ii.He highlighted upon reflecting on lessons learnt from the border clashes of 2020 (Galwan June 2020).
- He also emphasized upon taking steps to prevent recurrence of such events to safeguard peace along the border.
Australia, India agreed for air-to-air refuelling for military aircraft
Australia and India have collaborated to enable the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and India's armed forces to conduct air-to-air refuelling at the bilateral discussions held between Rajnath Singh and Australia's Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy ADMM-Plus 2024.
- This will boost defense relations and interoperability between the air forces of the two nations.
- Under the arrangement, RAAF's air-to-air refuelling aircraft, the KC-30A multi-role tanker transport, will be able to refuel aircraft of India's armed forces.
- Air-to-air refuelling helps extend the range of fighter jets and other military aircraft to conduct operations far away from their base.
About Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN):
Secretary-General – Kao Kim Hourn
Headquarters – Jakarta, Indonesia
Founded – August 1967
Member States– 10 (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam)
