India and US Defence Ministers Review the 10-Year Defence Framework at ADMM-Plus
India's Defence Minister and the US Secretary of War (the head of the US defence department) met and reviewed how far the two countries have come in carrying out their defence framework agreement.
The agreement under review is the Framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership, a 10-year roadmap signed on 31 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It sets the policy direction for the whole defence relationship.
The meeting took place around the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), hosted by the Philippines in Cebu on 28 and 29 October 2026. India's Defence Minister travelled to Cebu for this forum and held bilateral talks on its sidelines.
The framework's priorities include working together smoothly across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace (interoperability), maritime security, counter-terrorism, and joint development and production of defence equipment.
The review signals that both sides want to keep defence cooperation moving steadily, even when other parts of the relationship, such as trade, face strain.
India-US Major Defence Partnership (MDP): Foundational Agreements and the 2025 Framework
The India-US Major Defence Partnership is the special defence relationship between India and the United States. In 2016, the US named India a "Major Defence Partner", a status given only to India. Since then, the two countries have signed four "foundational agreements" that let their militaries share bases, secure communication and map data. The whole relationship is guided by a 10-year framework document, which is renewed each decade.
The meeting in Cebu was a check on how the 2025 framework is being carried out one year after it was signed. Reviews like this keep the framework's priorities, such as co-production and interoperability, on track.
India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership (CGSP)
The India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership (CGSP) is the official name of the overall relationship between India and the United States. It means the two countries work together across many areas: defence, trade, technology, energy, health, space and education. They also cooperate on global issues such as security in the Indo-Pacific. Defence is one pillar of this wider partnership.
The defence ministers' review shows that defence remains a steady pillar of the wider strategic partnership. Steady defence talks help both sides manage differences in other areas, such as trade.
ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus): Asia's Defence Diplomacy Platform
The ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus, or ADMM-Plus, is a meeting where the defence ministers of the Southeast Asian countries sit down with the defence ministers of eight major partner countries. India is one of these eight partners. The forum lets these countries talk about security problems and run joint military training together. It is the main official meeting place for defence ministers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The India-US review of their defence framework took place around the 13th ADMM-Plus in Cebu. This shows how the forum works as a meeting point: ministers attend the multilateral meeting and also hold important one-on-one talks on its sidelines, just as the framework itself was signed at the 12th ADMM-Plus a year earlier.
- Framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership: signed 31 October 2025, Kuala Lumpur; valid for 10 years
- Earlier 10-year frameworks: 2005 and 2015
- India named a US "Major Defence Partner" in 2016
- Foundational agreements: GSOMIA (2002), LEMOA (2016), COMCASA (2018), BECA (2020)
- Security of Supply Arrangement: August 2024 (non-binding)
- MQ-9B deal: 31 drones, October 2024
- 13th ADMM-Plus and 20th ADMM: Cebu, Philippines, 28-29 October 2026
- ADMM-Plus: first meeting 2010 (Hanoi); annual since 2017; 8 Plus countries; 7 areas of cooperation