Defence minister Rajnath Singh flags concern over US military aid to Pakistan in talks with Pete Hegseth

India on Wednesday flagged concerns over US military aid to Pakistan and the risk of Islamabad sharing advanced American technology with a ‘third country '—a veiled reference to China—during talks between defence minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Cebu, Philippines, officials aware of the matter said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth held talks on the sidelines of the ADMM-Plus meeting in the Philippines on Wednesday. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)Singh also raised concerns over US support for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter fleet, following a recent $686 million upgrade package, the officials said, asking not to be named.

The Philippines is hosting the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus from October 28-29. Singh will address the gathering on Thursday. Both leaders reviewed progress under the10-year US-India Major Defence Partnership Framework, signed a year ago to provide a shared vision and policy direction for deeper defence cooperation, an official statement said.

“We reviewed the progress of our 10-year Defence Framework, driving strategic convergence across military technology, information sharing, and co-production,” Singh wrote on X. The framework marks a new phase of bilateral defence cooperation over the next decade.

“We celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Framework for our Major Defense Partnership and explored ways to strengthen cooperation,” Hegseth said. The discussions touched upon advancing military-to-military exchanges, augmenting maritime security collaboration, and integrating robust defence supply chains to further expand ongoing defence industry collaboration, the defence ministry said.

Singh stressed there should be no double standards on terrorism, the officials added. India has repeatedly flagged Pakistan’s role in backing terrorism, insisting that those who finance, support or shelter terrorists must be held accountable.

Singh and Hegseth reaffirmed their resolve to combat global terrorism. The global community must maintain “an uncompromising, zero-tolerance approach towards nations that support, train, or fund terrorist organisations,” Singh said.

Hegseth reaffirmed Washington’s full support to India in its fight against cross-border terrorism, while Singh thanked the US for its consistent and strong support, the defence ministry said. The ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN.

The ADMM-Plus brings together the 11 ASEAN member states—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam—and eight dialogue partners—India, the US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand—to strengthen security and defence cooperation.

Singh also held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Japan, Australia, South Korea and other countries. Also reaf: Rajnath Singh meets defence ministers of New Zealand, South Korea, Vietnam on ADMM-Plus sidelines “Had productive discussions on reviewing our ongoing bilateral defence cooperation and exploring new avenues to further strengthen the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership,” Singh said after meeting Japanese defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi.

The meeting came two months after India and Japan signed a memorandum of arrangement to deepen maritime security cooperation, focusing on closer ties between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force—the latest in a series of steps to bolster bilateral military ties.

Rahul Singh is Defence Editor at Hindustan Times and has covered military affairs and national security for nearly 25 years. Apart from extensive and deep reporting on the Indian military, including several newsbreaks that have set the national news agenda over the years, Rahul has reported from conflict zones including Jammu & Kashmir, India’s North-east and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rahul has co-authored the bestselling 'India's Most Fearless' series of books on recent Indian military operations. Widely read and translated into multiple languages, the books place an emphasis on firsthand accounts of daring missions across the three services.

His work has been adapted into web series and films including the National Award-winning Amaran. Rahul comes from an Army background and attended schools across the country before completing his education from Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Grew up playing tennis, now mostly cheers from the sidelines. Works in Delhi, heart in the mountains.Read More