Archive · 1 Nov 2025
India's Indo-Pacific Policy Aims for Openness, Inclusivity: Rajnath Singh
India's Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh, explained that India wants the Indo-Pacific area to be a place where everyone can participate, where things are fair, and nobody feels forced.
He said this isn't about targeting any particular country.
India believes that working with its neighbors in ASEAN helps everyone stay peaceful and strong.
He mentioned that India has been involved in the ADMM-Plus meeting, which is important for its plans in the region.
The minister also talked about how future safety means working together on things like shared resources and helping each other during disasters.
India wants to build partnerships that include sharing technology and helping people, not just defense.
They are also looking at how climate change can affect security.
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that its strategic engagement with ASEAN is built on a shared commitment to an open, inclusive, and coercion-free Indo-Pacific.
Singh emphasized that India's focus on the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific is for the benefit of all regional stakeholders, not aimed at any single nation.
The ADMM-Plus meeting in Kuala Lumpur provides a platform for India to enhance diplomatic and economic engagement with ASEAN countries.
Future regional security, according to Singh, will depend on managing shared resources, securing infrastructure, and collective responses to humanitarian crises, integrating climate resilience.
India has actively participated in the ADMM-Plus since its inception, co-chairing several expert working groups on topics like Humanitarian Mine Action and Counter-Terrorism.
- Who
- Rajnath Singh, India's Defence Minister
- What
- Stated that India's strategic engagement with ASEAN is based on a shared belief in an open, inclusive, and coercion-free Indo-Pacific, emphasizing that its policies are not directed at any specific country but aim for regional peace, stability, and capacity-building.
- When
- Saturday, November 2, 2024 (assumed date based on context)
- Where
- Kuala Lumpur, at the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)
- Why
- To outline India's approach to regional security cooperation with ASEAN and to emphasize the principles guiding its Indo-Pacific vision.
Potential Concerns about India's Indo-Pacific Stance
India's Official Position
Nature of Indo-Pacific Policy
Potential Concerns about India's Indo-Pacific Stance
Some may perceive India's focus on an 'open, inclusive, and coercion-free Indo-Pacific' as a strategic move aimed at countering specific regional powers.
India's Official Position
Rajnath Singh explicitly stated that India's policies and emphasis on the rule of law and freedom of navigation are not directed against any country but are intended to safeguard the collective interests of all regional stakeholders.
Scope of Regional Security
Potential Concerns about India's Indo-Pacific Stance
The primary focus of regional security might be seen as solely military capabilities.
India's Official Position
Singh highlighted that future security encompasses military capabilities alongside the management of shared resources, digital and physical infrastructure security, collective humanitarian response, and integrating climate resilience.
- Event
- 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)
- Location
- Kuala Lumpur
- Speaker
- Rajnath Singh, India's Defence Minister
- Date
- Saturday (November 2, 2024 is the closest Saturday to the assumed 2025 date)
- Key Themes
- Open, inclusive, coercion-free Indo-Pacific; Rule of law; Freedom of navigation; ASEAN-India cooperation; Regional security; Climate resilience
- India's Initiatives
- Co-chairing Expert Working Groups on Humanitarian Mine Action, Military Medicine, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Counter-Terrorism
Sources
India, Australia enhance defence collaboration on UAS, amphibious operations
Rajnath Singh: India’s Indo-Pacific policy not directed at any country
India’s engagement with ASEAN rests on a shared belief in an open, inclusive & coercion-free Indo-Pacific: Singh
