India-US Defence Framework Marks First Year as Hegseth Meets Rajnath Singh in Cebu

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the sidelines of the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu, the Philippines, on 28 October 2026, with the two sides marking the first anniversary of the India-US Defence Framework. Hegseth said on his official X account that they “celebrated the one-year anniversary” of the framework for the countries’ Major Defense Partnership and explored ways to strengthen cooperation.

What the two ministers said

In his post, Hegseth described the talks as a “great meeting” and said both sides discussed how to deepen the partnership. Rajnath Singh, writing on X, said the ministers reviewed progress under the 10-year framework, which he said spans military technology, information sharing and co-production. He called the partnership a cornerstone for a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific, according to Indian media reports.

Neither side announced new agreements or procurement decisions at the meeting, and no joint statement had been published at the time of writing.

A framework signed one year ago

Hegseth and Singh signed the framework in Kuala Lumpur on 31 October 2025, on the margins of the 12th ADMM-Plus hosted by Malaysia. The document sets out a ten-year roadmap for the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership, covering areas such as defence industrial collaboration, technology cooperation and military-to-military coordination.

The anniversary meeting gave the two ministers an opportunity to take stock of implementation after the first year, at a time when Washington is seeking to expand co-production with partners in the Indo-Pacific and New Delhi is pushing for greater technology transfer to its domestic defence industry.

Busy diplomacy at ADMM-Plus

The Philippines chairs ADMM-Plus in 2026. The forum brings together the ten ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

Hegseth has used the Cebu meetings for a series of bilateral talks, including with South Korea’s Minister of National Defense Kang, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. Rajnath Singh, who leads India’s delegation, has also held separate talks with Marles during the gathering.

Featured image: U.S. Department of War / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Hegseth and Singh in Kuala Lumpur, October 2025)