Nirmala Sitharaman: Sitharaman maintains bilaterally with his counterparts from the United States and ASEAN in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday held a series of bilateral meetings with counterparts from ASEAN countries and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis on the sidelines of the summit. Defense Ministers of ASEAN.

The defense ministers of the ASEAN countries and those of Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States met for the 12th Meeting of ASEAN Defense Ministers (ADMM) and the 5th ADMM-Plus, which is hosted by Singapore.

The ADMM and ADMM-Plus groups are key platforms at the ministerial level in the regional security architecture, promoting strategic dialogue and practical cooperation between ASEAN and its partners.

"Smt @nsitraman at a bilateral meeting with #SecDef James Mattis, US Secretary of Defense, on the sidelines of the meeting of ASEAN Defense Ministers (in Singapore)," tweeted the Minister of Defense.

Sitharaman also met with his Malaysian counterpart, Mohamad bin Sabu, Australian Defense Minister Christopher Pyne, the National Defense Secretary of the Philippines Delfin Lorenzana and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Defense, Ngo Xuan Lich, during his hectic day. -long meetings.

She will also hold a bilateral meeting with her Singapore counterpart, Dr. Ng Eng Hen.

According to sources, India and Singapore will expand their already comprehensive bilateral defense collaboration.

A new agreement will likely be signed for collaboration between armies, the bilateral organization of logistics and support for exchange visits of naval vessels from both countries, sources said.

The two countries regularly organize exercises involving the armed forces, the navies and the air force.

India and Singapore will also celebrate 25 years of SINBEX, an annual exercise comprising a two-week naval exercise program in the Bay of Bengal in the coming weeks.

Sitharaman arrived on Thursday and will return home on Sunday.