India and Brunei First Defence JWG Launch: India and Brunei took a decisive step to institutionalize and deepen their defence partnership this week when both countries held the inaugural meeting of the India–Brunei Joint Working Group (JWG) on Defence Cooperation in New Delhi. The new JWG whose Terms of Reference were signed during the meeting creates a formal mechanism to plan and implement practical military-to-military activities, capacity-building, maritime security cooperation and defence-industry linkages between the two countries.
The JWG is more than a diplomatic gesture: it transforms a bilateral agreement into a working roadmap. India and Brunei first announced a defence partnership framework earlier this decade; the JWG now supplies the structure to convert memoranda and goodwill into training exchanges, joint exercises, port calls, human-assistance and disaster-relief (HADR) cooperation, and industry collaboration.
For a small but strategically located state like Brunei lying on key energy and shipping lanes in the South China Sea and the southern reaches of the South China Sea/Indo-Pacific closer defence ties with India carry operational, training and technological benefits. For India, the move consolidates partnerships in Southeast Asia that support a stable, rules-based Indo-Pacific.
What happened at the inaugural meeting?
The inaugural JWG meeting was held in New Delhi on 9 December 2025 and was co-chaired by Joint Secretary (Defence), Amitabh Prasad, on the Indian side and Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Brunei, Poh Kui Choon, on Brunei’s side.
India and Brunei Darussalam today signed the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for establishing a Joint Working Group (JWG) to drive the implementation of Defence Cooperation, marking a significant step toward a new era of structured engagement and enhanced bilateral collaboration; the… pic.twitter.com/twgTIafIeZ
— Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) December 9, 2025
The two sides signed the JWG Terms of Reference (ToRs) and agreed on a work programme that will steer cooperation across several concrete areas: expanding military-to-military exchanges, enlarging opportunities for joint training, strengthening maritime security (including sea-lane safety), coordinating on HADR and disaster response, and exploring defence-industry partnerships and technology cooperation.
India and Brunei First Defence JWG Launch: Core themes discussed
During the talks, both sides focused on practical, mutually beneficial areas. Maritime security topped the agenda unsurprising given regional shipping chokepoints and the importance of the South China Sea/Indo-Pacific for energy flows and trade. Participants discussed cooperative patrols, maritime domain awareness, and exercises that would enhance interoperability.
Capacity building, especially officer training, technical exchanges and educational programs and coordinated HADR planning, were highlighted as immediate, deliverable priorities. Finally, both delegations signalled interest in leveraging India’s growing defence-industrial base through joint ventures, training on indigenous platforms and collaboration on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).
What does this mean for the defence industry and training?
For India’s defence industry, the JWG opens channels for defence exports, joint development, and services such as MRO. Brunei could benefit from access to Indian training institutions staff colleges, technical schools and specialised courses as well as from procurement of cost-effective platforms and systems.
The roadmap discussed under the JWG will help identify priority capability gaps Brunei wishes to fill and the Indian platforms or services that can meet those needs, whether in sensors, coastal security boats, unmanned systems, or communications.
Timeline
Officials said the JWG will now prepare a phased work plan to convert the ToRs into calendarized programs: scheduled exchanges, exercises or observer visits, training slots for Bruneian personnel in Indian institutions, workshops on maritime domain awareness, and exploratory industry dialogues. While exact dates for follow-on activities were not published, the JWG format is intended precisely to enable routine planning annual meetings, working-level technical groups and periodic reviews that measure implementation.
Beyond hardware and exercises, the JWG supports deeper diplomatic engagement that can yield economic and people-to-people dividends. Defence cooperation often accompanies higher levels of trust and institutional contact opening doors for trade delegations, joint scientific cooperation, and expanded cultural or educational exchanges.
For Brunei’s youth and military professionals, training and exchange programs in India can expand career and educational horizons; for Indian defence planners, the JWG builds a predictable partnership in a strategically important maritime neighbourhood.
The India–Brunei JWG on Defence Cooperation is a pragmatic instrument: modest in headline splash, but potentially high in practical value. By converting high-level intent into scheduled programs and projects, it can steadily raise interoperability, improve maritime safety, strengthen disaster preparedness, and create mutually beneficial industrial links.
