India reserves right to deter cross-border terrorism: Rajnath to US

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday that India has the right to defend itself against terrorism and to act pre-emptively to stop any future cross-border attacks from Pakistan. His comments come just days after US President Donald Trump praised Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir during his visit to the White House.

“The Defence Minister appreciated the unwavering support extended by the US to India in its fight against terrorism,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

This was the third phone conversation between Singh and Hegseth since Hegseth assumed office in President Trump’s second term.

Singh said India’s actions against Pakistan and  Pak-backed terror organisations have been measured, non-escalatory, and focused on disabling terrorist infrastructure.

During their call, the two leaders discussed strengthening long-term defence cooperation, including military training, joint exercises, and expanding defence industry collaboration. They agreed to deepen cooperation across areas such as interoperability, supply chain integration, logistics sharing, and working with other like-minded partners.

Singh also praised Hegseth’s leadership, which he said has advanced defence ties between India and the US.

Additionally, Singh urged the US to speed up deliveries of GE F404 engines for India’s LCA Tejas fighter jets and Apache helicopters.