NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will attend the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting - Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 01, 2025.
The Ministry of Defence on Wednesday said in a statement, "He will address the forum on ‘Reflection on 15 years of ADMM-Plus and Charting the Way Forward’. On the sidelines, the second edition of ASEAN-India Defence Ministers’ Informal Meeting, under the chairmanship of Malaysia, will be held on October 31, wherein Defence Ministers from all ASEAN member countries will take part.
The meeting aims to strengthen defence and security cooperation among ASEAN member states & India and advance the ‘Act East Policy’, MoD said.
During the two-day visit, the Defence Minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the participating ADMM-Plus nations as well as the senior leadership from Malaysia.
ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste & Vietnam) and its eight Dialogue Partners (India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia & New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation.
India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992, and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam, on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus has been held annually to bolster the defence cooperation among ASEAN and plus countries.
Under the construct of ADMM-Plus, India is the co-chair of the Experts Working Group on Counter Terrorism with Malaysia for the cycle 2024-2027.
As reported by the TNIE in March, for the first time, India will co-chair the Experts Working Group (EWG) on Counter-Terrorism under the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus).
Also, the second edition of ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise is also scheduled in 2026.