Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has offered India’s operational experience in counter-terrorism to partner countries through joint exercises, capacity-building initiatives and intelligence-sharing mechanisms. Addressing the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu, the Philippines, he said New Delhi remained committed to regional security and to eliminating terrorism in all its forms.
Singh presented India’s counter-terrorism approach as the product of decades of operational experience in dealing with complex cross-border security challenges. He said the country’s methods were not based only on classroom theory, but had been developed through direct engagement with security threats.
“India’s extensive expertise in counter-terrorism is not theoretical classroom knowledge. It is experience hard-earned through decades of directly confronting complex cross-border security challenges,” Rajnath Singh said.
Focus on practical cooperation
The minister said India was prepared to work with ADMM-Plus partners to improve their collective preparedness against terrorist threats. The cooperation proposed by New Delhi covers:
- joint military exercises;
- capacity-building initiatives; and
- intelligence-sharing mechanisms.
Singh referred to Operation Sindoor as an example of what he described as India’s proactive approach to counter-terrorism. He said the operation demonstrated India’s resolve to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and enforce a firm red line against state-sponsored terrorism. Those characterisations were made by the Defence Minister in his address.
India reiterates Indo-Pacific position
Singh also reaffirmed India’s support for an Indo-Pacific that is secure, open, inclusive, resilient and rules-based. He said ASEAN centrality remained important to regional stability and stressed that peace depended on shared responsibility and sustained cooperation among countries.
The minister linked that position to India’s maritime security activities. He said India not only supported adherence to international maritime law but had also consistently applied global maritime-security principles. According to Singh, India’s commitment to freedom of navigation and the protection of global sea lines of communication was backed by a continuous operational record.
“Our commitment to ensuring freedom of navigation and safeguarding global sea lines of communication is backed by a continuous, decades-long operational legacy,” Rajnath Singh said.
Singh’s remarks place counter-terrorism and maritime security together within India’s wider defence engagement with Southeast Asian partners. They also underline New Delhi’s stated preference for practical cooperation, information exchange and regular security coordination in the Indo-Pacific.
Separately, a Chinese defence spokesperson in Beijing accused the Philippines of undermining the principles of consensus, openness and inclusiveness that underpin the ADMM-Plus by obstructing China’s participation in the meeting. The accusation was reported alongside the Cebu gathering; China’s statement was not independently established in the remarks attributed to Singh.
