Rajnath Singh attends the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus Meeting

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh represented India at the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus Forum meeting in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s capital, Vientiane, on 21 November 2024.  Lao PDR, the Chair of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is hosting the 18th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting and the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus Meeting in Vientiane.

During his visit to Vientiane, Rajnath Singh also held a bilateral meeting with the Defence Minister of Lao PDR, General Chansamone Chanyalath, Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun and Malaysian Defence Minister Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Bin Nordin, on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus Meeting.

India has a close partnership with ASEAN. India was made a sectoral partner in 1992 and the relationship between the two was raised to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 21st ASEAN-India and the 19th East Asia Summit meetings,  which were held in Vientiane in October 2024.

Also Read - Prime Minister Narendra Modi concludes his visit to Lao PDR
18th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting 2024

The 18th  ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting, held in Vientiane on 20 November, was attended by the defence ministers of Lao PDR, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Philippines, and Vietnam. 

11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus Meeting 2024

The 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus Meeting was held on 21 November 2024 in Vientiane.

It was attended by 10 ASEAN countries and the representatives of eight Dialogue Partners - India, Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, Australia, New  Zealand and the United States.

About the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus

The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus Forum is an extended group of ASEAN and resident powers of the region who are also known as dialogue partners. They are Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.

It aims to strengthen security and defence cooperation amongst the countries of Asia Pacific to promote peace, stability, and development in the region. 

The first  ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam, in October 2010.

From 2017 onwards, it has become an annual meeting to discuss security and other regional challenges.

The ADMM-Plus currently focuses on seven areas: maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster management, peacekeeping operations, military medicine, humanitarian mine action and cyber security.