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.
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.
The framework marks a new phase of bilateral defence cooperation over the next decade. Singh and Hegseth reaffirmed their resolve to combat global terrorism.
“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. 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. “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.
