After a 'fruitful' summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, India and the US signed a 10-year framework agreement on Friday to strengthen defense sector cooperation.
A 10-year framework agreement to improve defense industry collaboration was inked by the US and India on Friday. The agreement was finalized in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at a "fruitful" meeting between US Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.This comes after US President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on Indian goods, which he said was a response to New Delhi's ongoing Russian oil imports.
The pact would direct policy in every facet of the India-US defense collaboration, according to the defense minister. Rajnath Singh said it will usher in a new decade of collaboration and described it as a "signal" of their growing strategic alignment.
"One of the primary pillars of our bilateral relations will continue to be defense. A free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region depends on our collaboration," Singh said.
"This strengthens our defense partnership, which is essential to regional stability and deterrence," stated Pete Hegseth. We're improving our tech cooperation, information exchange, and coordination. We have never had closer defense connections.
"One of the primary pillars of our bilateral relations will continue to be defense. A free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region depends on our collaboration," Singh said.
"This strengthens our defense partnership, which is essential to regional stability and deterrence," stated Pete Hegseth. We're improving our tech cooperation, information exchange, and coordination. We have never had closer defense connections.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) premier defense consultative and cooperative forum is the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM).
Along with eight Dialogue Partners—India, the United States, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand—the ADMM-Plus framework include ASEAN member states such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
The ASEAN-India discussions in Kuala Lumpur, Singh had stated prior to the visit, "aim to further strengthen defence and security cooperation among ASEAN member states & India and advance the 'Act East Policy'."
Along with eight Dialogue Partners—India, the United States, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand—the ADMM-Plus framework include ASEAN member states such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
The ASEAN-India discussions in Kuala Lumpur, Singh had stated prior to the visit, "aim to further strengthen defence and security cooperation among ASEAN member states & India and advance the 'Act East Policy'."
China calls on the US to "dispel uncertainty and enhance trust."
China's Defense Minister Dong Jun, meanwhile, told Pete Hegseth that both nations should establish "trust" during talks at Friday's meeting in Malaysia, Beijing said, as AFP reported.
Dong pushed Hegseth to "enhance trust and dispel uncertainty" and proposed that "the two militaries [should] explore the right way to get along," according to a readout of the discussion released by the Chinese defense ministry the day after Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in South Korea.
Dong told Hegseth that the "unification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is an irresistible historical trend," according to the readout from the defense ministry, while Trump told reporters that the leaders did not talk about Taiwan on Thursday.
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