Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday told US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that New Delhi reserves the right to pre-empt and deter future cross-border attacks, asserting that India’s response during Operation Sindoor was “measured, non-escalatory and proportionate.”
In their third phone conversation since January, the two leaders discussed expanding defence ties, terrorism, and regional security. The call came weeks after India’s military response to a cross-border terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, and amid a new ceasefire arrangement with Pakistan.
“India’s actions during Operation Sindoor were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and focused on disabling terrorist infrastructure,” Singh said, adding that, “India reserves the right to respond and defend against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter any further cross-border attacks.”
Singh also thanked the United States for its “unwavering support” to India’s counter-terrorism efforts.
Both sides reaffirmed their intent to deepen defence cooperation across sectors, including military exchanges, defence industry partnerships, and logistics.
According to India’s Ministry of Defence, Secretary Hegseth extended an invitation to Singh for an in-person meeting in the United States to take forward the bilateral defence agenda.
Taking to social media platform X, Singh said: “Excellent discussion to review the ongoing and new initiatives to further deepen India-US defence partnership and strengthen cooperation in capacity building. Looking forward to meeting him at an early date.”
