- Attending ADMM-Plus in Bangkok
- Both Ministers discuss regional security and ways to expand defence cooperation
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Bangkok. 17 November 2019. Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of Defence Dr Mark T Esper on the sidelines of ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Bangkok today.
Expressing happiness on the growing relationship between India and US, Rajnath Singh said, the bilateral cooperation between the two sides has grown across a wide range of sectors including defence and security, economy, energy, counter-terrorism and people-to-people ties.
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He added that there is growing convergence between India and US in the Indo-Pacific region and India’s vision for Indo-Pacific is for a free & open, peaceful, prosperous and inclusive region supported by a rules-based order and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is central to India’s vision of Indo-Pacific. Both countries are working together in the area of Maritime security including elements such as joint exercises, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations and Maritime Domain Awareness.
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The two Ministers also discussed a number of other issues concerning regional security and bilateral defence cooperation. The meeting ended on a positive note and the ministers looked forward to have substantial discussions during the forthcoming 2+2 dialogue in Washington DC later next month.
Later, in a tweet, Rajnath Singh described his meeting with US Secretary of Defence as excellent. “We talked about ways to expand defence cooperation between India and the United States,” he tweeted.