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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know US Signs 10-Year Defense Framework Agreement With India Pentagon Chief Has Flurry Of Talks In Asia, Including With Indian Counterpart U S Secretary ofWar Pete Hegseth announced October 31, 2025, thatWashington has signed a ten-year defense pact with India. He posted his comment accompanied with images of his meeting with Indian coun- terpart Rajnath Singh on the sidelines of the ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN meetings in Malaysia. “I just met with @rajnathsingh to sign a 10-year U.S.-India Defense Framework,” Hegseth said in his X post. “This advances our defense partnership, a corner- stone for regional stability and deterrence,” he said, adding, “We’re enhancing our coordination, info sharing, and tech cooperation. Our defense ties have never been stronger.” Details of the agreement are yet to be spelled out. The defense agreement comes in the midst of talks to hammer out a trade deal and the high tariffs President Donald Trump has slammed on India. U .S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held talks on Fri- day with counterparts from China and India, among a series of face-to-face meetings at an ASEAN defence summit in Malaysia asWashington seeks to boost its in- fluence and regional security ties. Hegseth said on X he told China’s Dong Jun the United States would “stoutly defend its interests” and maintain the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, while voicing concern about Chinese activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan. He also hailed as “a cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence” a new 10-year defence cooperation framework signed with Indian De- fence Minister Rajnath Singh. “It’s a significant step for our two militaries, a roadmap for deeper and even more meaningful collaboration ahead,” Hegseth told reporters after the signing. Hegseth and Singh met for the first time since the United States imposed tariffs of 50% on Indian goods in Au- gust as punishment for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, which led to India pausing purchases of U.S. defence equipment. TRUMP CALL TO RESUME NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING Hegseth’s visit to Southeast Asia came soon after Trump shocked the world by announcing on social media that he had asked the U.S. military to “start testing our Nuclear Weapons”, saying the United States could not fall behind Russia and China. But there has been confusion in Washington as to whether Trump meant testing nuclear weapons delivery systems such as missiles, or explosive testing of nuclear devices, which would mean ending a 33-year moratorium. Hegseth did not respond when asked by a reporter on Friday to clarify what kind of nuclear tests Trump was referring to. ASEAN is consistently opposed to nuclear weapons and working to get all nuclear weapons states to endorse a nuclear-free zone in Southeast Asia, Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn told reporters on Friday, when asked about the resumption. The U.S. has sought to shore up its presence in Southeast Asia to coun- ter an increasingly assertive China, with Trump on Sunday telling ASEAN leadersWashington is “with you 100% and we intend to be a strong partner for many generations”. The United States has a defence pact with the Philippines that involves dozens of annual military drills and use of some of its bases, in addition to similar exercises with Thailand and Indonesia and security exchanges with Malaysia. ‘REESTABLISH DETERRENCE IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA’ In a succession of X posts car- rying images of his Kuala Lumpur meetings on Friday, Hegseth said he discussed a longstanding alliance with Thailand’s defence minister, described Indonesia as “an anchor of regional stability” and said he discussed advancingWashington’s strong defence partnership with the Philippines. “We will work relentlessly to reestablish deterrence in the South China Sea and advance our alliance,” he said of the meeting with the Philippine defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea via a line on its maps that overlaps with parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. China has deployed a coast guard armada to enforce those claims, has clashed repeatedly with Philip- pine vessels and has been accused of disrupting the energy activities of Malaysia and Vietnam. Beijing says its coast guard has operated professionally in defending Chinese territory from incursions. Chinese Defence Minister Dong told ASEAN counterparts that Beijing would work with its neighbours to “make the shield of common security even more solid”. “With Eastern wisdom, we shall pool Eastern strength, and through practical actions, safeguard last- ing peace and stability in the South China Sea,” he said, according to China’s defence ministry.. -Reuters By a StaffWriter By Danial Azhar Ship Carrying Russian Naphtha To India In Limbo After US Sanctions A ship carrying Russian naphtha has been stuck off India’s western coast, unable to unload, since October 26 after U.S. sanctions on two key suppliers disrupted Indian oil and fuel imports, traders said and shipping data confirmed. Following new Ukraine-related U.S. sanctions on Russia last week, Indian refiners said they were ready to sharply curtail Russian oil imports, as New Delhi already faces punishing 50% tariffs on its exports to the United States. India is the second biggest buyer after Taiwan of naph- tha from Russia, which in September shipped around 170,000 metric tons of the fuel used as a feedstock for petrochemicals and gasoline to India, market sources said and shipping data showed. All of these cargoes have already been discharged in India, with the exception of around 40,000 tons of naph- tha on the vessel that has been stuck near the port of Mundra in the western state of Gujarat, the sources and shipping data showed. The cargo, of which the buyer and seller could not be ascertained, was loaded at the Russian Baltic port of Ust- Luga and was destined for Mundra, LSEG and Kpler data showed. India’s HPCL-Mittal Energy, which operates the 226,000 barrel per day Bathinda refinery in the northern Punjab state, gets all of its crude and naphtha supplies at Mundra port. HPCL-Mittal Energy, which said onWednesday it has stopped purchasing Russian oil, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Thursday. “We will not buy from any sanctioned entity,” a source at HPCL-Mittal Energy told Reuters, adding that the re- finer has a planned turnaround coming up in November and has ample stocks of naphtha for its cracker. In October so far, naphtha loadings from Russian ports bound for India totalled around 185,000 tons and most of the cargoes are still at sea, LSEG data shows. -Reuters PHOTOS:X @SECWAR US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shakes hands with India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh hold up the 10-year Defense Framework. 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