India Offers Counterterrorism Expertise to ASEAN Partners

India is prepared to share counterterrorism expertise with ASEAN countries and their dialogue partners through joint exercises, capacity-building and intelligence sharing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said at a regional defence meeting in Cebu on October 29. Addressing the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus, Singh said India’s experience came from decades of confronting cross-border security threats. He offered practical cooperation to the participating countries, saying it could strengthen their collective counterterrorism capabilities. Singh cited Operation Sindoor, conducted the previous year, as an example of India’s approach. He said the operation destroyed terrorist infrastructure and described it as a declaration of India’s position against state-sponsored terrorism. Those descriptions and claims about the operation’s results were Singh’s; the accounts of his remarks did not provide an independent assessment of its effectiveness. The minister also addressed maritime security, calling it important to regional peace, security and prosperity. He said India supported freedom of navigation and overflight, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and a secure,...