NEW DELHI — At least half a dozen executives from top Indian arms makers, including Adani Defense and Bharat Forge, attended rare meetings in Russia this year to discuss potential joint ventures, three people familiar with the matter said.

The meetings took place during the first visit of India’s defense business leaders to Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The visit by the defense business leaders had not previously been reported. The Indian government is seeking to reorientate its decades-old defense ties with Russia to focus on joint development of weapons.

After the article was published, a spokesperson for Bharat Forge denied, and an Adani Group spokesperson reiterated its denial, that executives from any of their companies had attended the meetings.

“No Adani representative attended or participated in any meetings in Russia — official or otherwise,” an Adani spokesperson said in a statement. “Any reporting that states or implies otherwise is false.”

Following the story’s publication, the three people and another government source confirmed to Reuters that the meetings had taken place and that representatives of Adani Group and Bharat Forge had attended.

A Reuters spokesperson said: “We stand by our reporting.”

India’s defense ministry declined to comment on this story. It had also not responded to a request for comment earlier.

Any potential collaboration with Russia risks setting back plans by Indian defense firms to jointly develop Western arms as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to make India, one of the world’s biggest arms importers, a global manufacturing hub.

Western diplomats have previously said that a key obstacle to the transfer of sensitive military technology to India is its defense ties with Russia and the vast amount of Russian-origin arms used by the Indian military, totaling about 36%.

The talks in Moscow were held on the sidelines of a visit by an Indian defense-industrial delegation on Oct. 29-30, headed by India’s Defense Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar, that was aimed at laying the ground for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India on Dec. 4-5.

JOINT PRODUCTION IN INDIA
The meetings discussed the potential for manufacturing of spares for Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets, and other Russian-origin air defense and weapon systems, as well as a Russian proposal to set up production units in India for development of equipment that could potentially also be exported to Moscow, said two of the sources and another industry executive.

They spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

Russia has been India’s top arms supplier for decades, and during Mr. Putin’s visit the two sides said they had agreed to reorient their partnership “to joint research and development, co-development and co-production of advanced defense technology and systems” to support India’s self-reliance in defense.

INDIAN EXECUTIVES IN MOSCOW
A broad delegation of representatives from defense units of Indian conglomerates, state-owned firms, as well as startups involved in the development of drones and artificial intelligence for military use attended the meetings, the sources said.

An executive at engineering conglomerate Kalyani Group’s Bharat Forge, which makes components for missiles and artillery guns, attended the meetings as part of efforts to source or jointly develop components for Russian-origin tanks and aircraft as well as to explore potential future collaboration on helicopters, two of the sources said.

Adani Defense and Aerospace, a unit of billionaire Gautam Adani’s apples-to-airports conglomerate Adani Group, was represented by its Chief Executive Officer Ashish Rajvanshi, the sources said.

Also attending was an executive from the Society of Indian Defense Manufacturers’ (SIDM) advisory group that lists more than 500 arms and military equipment makers as its members, including the defense arms of conglomerates Tata Sons, Larsen & Toubro, and state-owned firms such as Bharat Electronics.

An SIDM spokesperson said no one from the group attended any such meetings.

Spokespeople for Tata Sons and Larsen & Toubro said none of their representatives attended any meetings in Russia. Reuters was unable to determine if Bharat Electronics was part of the business delegation. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Retired Lieutenant General Arun Sahni, who is an adviser to the defense unit of Tata Sons, said following the Reuters story that he was in Moscow in November in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of the firm.

Mr. Sahni said he did not attend the meetings of Indian defense business leaders in Moscow on Oct. 29-30, but said he knew that they had happened but was not aware of the firms in attendance.

SANCTIONS RISK
Reuters reported in 2024 that a Bharat Forge subsidiary was among the three Indian firms that exported artillery shells to Europe, some of which were later diverted to Ukraine, resulting in a diplomatic protest from Moscow.

Indian firms, however, would be hesitant about striking new deals with Russia due to the risk of secondary sanctions, an Indian executive said.

While India can use diplomatic outreach and lobbying to offer some protection from sanctions, an Indian defense official said the firms would have to factor in the political risks themselves. — Reuters

SEOUL — The nominee to head South Korea’s broadcast and media commission told parliament on Tuesday he would pursue imposing restrictions on social media use for teenagers, saying it was a priority as a means to protect young people.

Kim Jong-cheol said during a hearing on his nomination that it was a key part of the commission’s mission to ensure the public can “engage in communication in a safe and free environment and in an orderly manner.”

When asked if the government would consider introducing restrictions on social media use for young people such as the measures implemented in Australia, Mr. Kim responded: “I believe we have to, of course.”

“I believe protecting young people in that aspect is an important and key goal and I intend to pursue the job with that in mind,” he said.

Australia earlier this month became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, and other countries are considering similar age-based measures as concerns grow over the effects of social media on young people’s health and safety. — Reuters

BANGKOK — Thailand is working out how to repatriate up to 6,000 citizens unable to return home through a major border crossing in Cambodia closed as fighting along the contested border extended into a second week, authorities said on Tuesday.

The militaries of the Southeast Asian neighbors are clashing at several locations on their 817 kilometer (508 mile) land border, both have said, with no signs of abatement, despite international efforts to negotiate a ceasefire.

Cambodia’s closure of its checkpoint in the city of Poipet has prevented the return of thousands of Thai workers gathered there amid fighting that has displaced more than half a million people and killed nearly 40 on both sides since last Monday.

Hun Sen, Cambodia’s influential former leader, has said the closure aimed to protect civilians from what he called indiscriminate firing by Thai forces in the area.

But checkpoints were open in areas free of fighting and air travel was unrestricted, he added.

In Bangkok on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said Thais in Poipet could seek help to arrange air travel home from the consulate in the city of Siem Reap, the gateway to the Angkor Wat temple complex.

It urged others still in Cambodia to contact officials if they needed to leave.

Efforts to end the fighting have included calls from US President Donald Trump, who also brokered a halt to a five-day conflict in July by using trade negotiations as leverage.

“The army said there has been continuous fighting across the border line. The situation is still in flux,” said Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman of the Thai defense ministry, with fighting reported in eight border provinces.

Cambodia’s forces would “continue to stand strong, brave and steadfast in their fight against the aggressor”, its defense ministry said.

There was no international pressure for a ceasefire, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told journalists in response to a question.

“No one is pressuring us. Who is pressuring whom? I don’t know,” he said, but did not answer a query whether Mr. Trump was using the threat of tariff measures to pressure Thailand to stop the conflict.

The neighbors have long disputed sections of the frontier, but the scale and intensity of the latest clashes, stretching from forested inland areas near the Laos border to coastal provinces, are unprecedented in recent history.

Each side blames the other for starting the fighting.

Malaysia will host a special meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers next week as the regional bloc tries to re-establish the ceasefire. — Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will appoint new ministers on Tuesday, as he looks to stabilize his administration and fill the vacancies in his cabinet arising from resignations and expired senate terms.

The Southeast Asian nation has seen steady economic growth and a boost in foreign investment since Mr. Anwar took office in November 2022, but his administration has been rocked by internal disagreements among cabinet members and public discontent over rising living costs.

Mr. Anwar said in a social media post that he would make a special announcement about the cabinet on Tuesday, with an accompanying infographic saying the statement would be broadcast at 3.30 p.m. local time (0730 GMT).

The government “will continue to prioritize strengthening governance and policy implementation for the well-being of the people and the nation,” Mr. Anwar said in the post.

Two ministers resigned in May after losing their leadership positions in the premier’s party, while a third quit last month due to unhappiness over the federal government’s position on state rights.

Mr. Anwar will also be looking to replace Tengku Zafrul Aziz, who as trade minister this year led Malaysia’s negotiations with the United States on tariff issues.

His senatorship term expired on December 2 and he has since been appointed head of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.

Mr. Anwar last made major changes to his cabinet in December 2023 following a dip in opinion polls at the time, amid concerns over the state of the economy, inflation, and the slow pace of promised reforms.

Malaysia’s cabinet comprises elected federal and state lawmakers from both houses of parliament, as well as appointed senators in the upper house. — Reuters