Rajnath Singh holds bilateral talks with defence ministers of China, Laos, and Malaysia at ASEAN meeting

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday engaged in bilateral meetings with his counterparts from China, Laos, and Malaysia to strengthen defence cooperation and address regional security concerns, on the sidelines of 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane.

During his visit, Singh met with Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun, Lao Defence Minister General Chansamone Chanyalath, and Malaysian Defence Minister Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Bin Nordin to discuss issues of shared interest and explore ways to bolster bilateral defence ties.

Notably, Rajnath Singh met the Chinese Defence Minister for the first time following the recent disengagement agreements, and the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.

Singh highlighted the fact that amicable relations between India and China, the two largest nations in the world, would have positive implications for global peace and prosperity. Considering that both countries are and will continue to remain neighbours, he mentioned that “we need to focus on cooperation rather than conflict.”

He also called for reflecting on the lessons learnt from the unfortunate border clashes of 2020, taking measures to prevent the recurrence of such events and safeguarding peace and tranquillity along the India-China border. He emphasised and looked forward to greater trust and confidence building between the two sides through de-escalation. Both sides agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding.

The Defence Ministry shared a post on X and wrote, “Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh today held a bilateral meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Mr Dong Jun in Vientiane, Lao PDR and discussed issues of shared interest.”

In another post, it said, “Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh today held a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister of Lao PDR General Chansamone Chanyalath in Vientiane. They discussed ways to further bolster bilateral defence cooperation, along with issues pertaining to regional security.”

“After arriving in Lao PDR, Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh met his Malaysian counterpart Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Bin Nordin in Vientiane. They briefly discussed defence cooperation & #regionalsecurity, to foster a stronger bilateral partnership,” the Defence Ministry said in another post.

Singh described the meeting with his Chinese counterpart as “extremely productive” and said that they agreed to collaborate on a roadmap aimed at rebuilding mutual trust and understanding.

On X, Singh wrote, “Had an extremely productive meeting with the Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun in Vientiane. We agreed to work together towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding.”

Rajnath Singh reaffirmed India’s commitment to strengthening bilateral defence cooperation with Malaysia. In a post on X, Singh wrote, “It was a pleasure to interact with Malaysia’s Defence Minister Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Bin Nordin in Vientiane, Lao PDR. India is strongly committed to strengthen and expand our bilateral defence cooperation.”

On his meeting with his Lo PDR counterpart, Singh said, “Delighted to meet the Defence Minister of Lao PDR General Chansamone Chanyalath in Vientiane. India and Lao PDR have huge potential for Defence Industry Cooperation. I invited him to Aero India 2025 to be held in Bengaluru from 10-12 Feb 2025.”

Prior to his departure from Delhi, the Defence Minister said, “I’m leaving for Vientiane to attend the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) in Lao PDR. Various regional and international security Issues will be discussed during the meeting. There would also be separate bilateral meetings with my counterparts from other participating nations. Looking forward to it.”

Singh will be in Vientiane to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) from November 20 to 22, 2024. The summit gathers Defence ministers from ASEAN countries and eight key partners including India, China and the United States to address pressing security challenges like maritime safety and disaster management.

ADMM is the highest Defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its eight Dialogue Partners (India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation.

India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster the cooperation between ASEAN and the Plus countries. Lao PDR is the chair and host of the 11th ADMM-Plus.