"ASEAN-led mechanisms such as the ADMM-Plus give India a low-cost platform for both multilateral and bilateral defence diplomacy." Discuss with reference to India's Act East Policy.

The ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) first met in Hanoi in 2010 and has met every year since 2017. It brings together the 10 ASEAN members and 8 dialogue partners, including India [1]. For India's Act East Policy, it is a cheap, ASEAN-centred way to engage on regional security. However, it does more for India's bilateral ties than for multilateral outcomes.

Multilateral defence diplomacy

• ASEAN centrality: by working inside a forum that ASEAN leads, India supports the regional role that Act East is built on. It also avoids the cost of creating a new institution.
• Shaping the agenda through Experts' Working Groups (EWGs): India co-chairs the Counter-Terrorism EWG with Malaysia (2024–27). This is its first time in that role [2]. India has also hosted EWG meetings and planning for a table-top exercise in New Delhi [3].
• Promoting norms: India has used the forum to support freedom of navigation and overflight [4], which matches its Indo-Pacific vision.

Bilateral diplomacy on the sidelines

• Many counterparts in one trip: at Vientiane (2024), the Raksha Mantri met his South Korean, Australian and New Zealand counterparts. India and South Korea also exchanged an Implementing Arrangement on Air-to-Air Refuelling [5].
• Cebu (2026): talks with ROK minister Kang Shin-chul covered the co-development of military technologies, industry collaboration and maritime security [6]. They build on the 2020 Roadmap for Defence Industries Cooperation [7].

Limits of the platform

• Consensus ceiling: China and Russia are also members [1], so statements agreed by the whole forum stay cautious. Sharper wording such as an "open, free and inclusive" Indo-Pacific appears only in bilateral readouts [6].
• Slow, small steps: sideline meetings usually produce small arrangements. With South Korea, co-development is still only a goal, and no named project has been announced [6].
• Frequent ministerial changes: India dealt with one ROK defence minister at Vientiane [5] and a different one at Cebu [6]. A single meeting each year cannot sustain a technology partnership on its own.

ADMM-Plus therefore extends India's diplomatic reach at low cost. It combines ASEAN-centred multilateralism with targeted bilateral deals. To turn this reach into strategic depth, India should back sideline talks with permanent mechanisms: regular official-level dialogues, funded co-development projects and continued EWG leadership. That would help Act East mature from engagement into an inclusive, rules-based Indo-Pacific security order.