India will host the 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus Experts Working Group on Counter Terrorism and the Final Planning Conference for a Table Top Exercise in New Delhi from 14 to 16 January 2026. India and Malaysia will co-chair the meeting. The event will bring together ASEAN member states, dialogue partners, and the ASEAN Secretariat to review progress under the ongoing 2024-2027 work cycle.
What the Meeting Covers
The Experts Working Group on Counter Terrorism is part of the ADMM-Plus framework, which promotes practical defence cooperation among participating countries. The New Delhi meeting will assess activities completed since the previous session and plan future initiatives under the three-year work plan. It will also strengthen multilateral cooperation on counter-terrorism.
Participation and Representation
Delegations from 11 ASEAN members will attend, along with seven dialogue partners. These include Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China, the United States and Russia. Representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat will also participate. This will be the third meeting in the current cycle.
Exercise Planning and Future Schedule
The Final Planning Conference for the Table Top Exercise will be held on 14 January. Malaysia will host the Table Top Exercise during the next EWG meeting in 2026. India will later conduct the Field Training Exercise in 2027. These exercises are used to test progress in practical cooperation among member nations.
ADMM-Plus Cooperation Areas
The ADMM-Plus currently focuses on seven areas of practical cooperation:
- Maritime security
- Counter-terrorism
- Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief
- Peacekeeping operations
- Military medicine
- Humanitarian mine action
- Cyber security