Pariksha SaathiRaksha Mantri at the 13th ADMM-Plus in Cebu: India committed to collective regional security and eradication of terrorism, ready to share battle-tested expertise with partners
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, addressing the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus in Cebu, Philippines, on 29 October 2026, reaffirmed India's commitment to collective regional security and the eradication of terrorism in all its forms. He said India's counter-terrorism expertise is not theoretical classroom knowledge but experience hard-earned on the ground through decades of directly confronting complex cross-border security challenges, and that this proactive, battle-tested doctrine was decisively demonstrated during Operation Sindoor, when India dismantled terrorist infrastructure and enforced a non-negotiable red line against state-sponsored terror. Saying that terrorism knows no borders, he said India stands fully prepared to share its practical, battle-tested experience with ADMM-Plus partners through joint exercises, capacity-building programmes and robust intelligence sharing; counter-terrorism remains an important area of cooperation under the ADMM-Plus framework, and India and Malaysia are co-chairing the Experts' Working Group on Counter-Terrorism for the 2024 to 2027 cycle. He said the meeting's theme, 'Navigating Our Future, Together', resonates with India's civilisational ethos of 'Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah' (May all beings be happy). Describing maritime cooperation as crucial to India's engagement with ASEAN during 2026, he highlighted the designation of 2026 as the ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation and the conduct of the second ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise, noted that the Indian Navy has maintained an uninterrupted, active presence in volatile corridors such as the Gulf of Aden since 2008, and said India's emphasis on the rule of law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and its advocacy of freedom of navigation and overflight are not directed against any country. He also proposed a dedicated defence 'Youth Bridge' to enhance institutional people-to-people connectivity, promote digital innovation and facilitate capacity building in line with ADMM-Plus initiatives.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Addressing the 12th ADMM-Plus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 1 November 2025, on 'Reflection on 15 years of ADMM-Plus and Charting a Way Forward', Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh described the ADMM-Plus as an essential component of India's 'Act East Policy' and broader Indo-Pacific vision, and said India's strategic engagement with ASEAN is long-term and principle-driven, not transactional. He recalled that the ASEAN-India partnership was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022, and that India, an active participant since the inception of the ADMM-Plus, had co-chaired its Experts' Working Groups on Humanitarian Mine Action with Vietnam from 2014 to 2017, on Military Medicine with Myanmar from 2017 to 2020 and on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief with Indonesia from 2020 to 2024, and was co-chairing the group on Counter-Terrorism with Malaysia for the 2024-2027 cycle. He said India would keep contributing in the spirit of 'MAHASAGAR' (Mutual and Holistic advancement for Security and Growth across Regions).
Check yourself: with which countries did India co-chair the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Groups on Humanitarian Mine Action and on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, and in which year was the ASEAN-India partnership elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership?
Vietnam (2014 to 2017) and Indonesia (2020 to 2024); 2022.
Revision task: from this release, note the meeting's number, venue and date, the operation cited, the Experts' Working Group India co-chairs and with whom, the meeting's theme, the year designated for maritime cooperation, the year since which the Navy has been present in the Gulf of Aden and the new proposal; from the note, the 12th ADMM-Plus's venue and date, the year of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and India's earlier co-chairmanships.
Test yourself
As Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh noted at the 13th ADMM-Plus in October 2026, with which country is India co-chairing the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group on Counter-Terrorism for the 2024 to 2027 cycle?
Show the answer
Answer: Malaysia
Addressing the 13th ADMM-Plus in Cebu, Philippines, on 29 October 2026, Rajnath Singh said counter-terrorism remains an important area of cooperation under the ADMM-Plus framework and that India and Malaysia are co-chairing the Experts' Working Group on Counter-Terrorism for the 2024 to 2027 cycle. He said India is ready to share its battle-tested counter-terrorism experience with ADMM-Plus partners through joint exercises, capacity-building programmes and intelligence sharing.
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