Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation at the 13th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) - Plus at Cebu, Philippines from October 28 to 29, 2026. 

The Defence Minister will address the forum on ‘Exchange of Views on Regional and International Security Issues’. 

On the sidelines of ADMM-Plus, Singh will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts of participating countries.  He will review the ongoing defence ties with the nations, and explore ways to further strengthen strategic partnerships, the Defence Ministry said in a statement today. 

The ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. 

ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam, and its eight Dialogue Partners which includes India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, to strengthen security and defence cooperation.

India became a dialogue partner in the ASEAN in 1992, and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on Oct 12, 2010. 

Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster defence cooperation amongst ASEAN and the Plus countries, according to the statement.  

The Philippines is the chair of ADMM-Plus for 2026. 

Under the construct of ADMM-Plus, India is co-chairing the Experts Working Group on Counter-Terrorism with Malaysia for the cycle 2024-2027. 

“India’s active participation in the ADMM-Plus mechanisms underscores the deepening defence diplomacy in Southeast Asia under the Act East policy, aimed at ensuring peace, stability and collective growth in the region,” the MoD statement added.