SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Ministry of External Affairs | Ministry of Defence
In a significant week for India’s security diplomacy, New Delhi hosted back-to-back high-level counterterrorism dialogues in early December 2025. The 21st India-US Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, held on December 3, focused on dismantling terror networks through legal and sanction regimes. A key outcome was the United States designating The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Both nations strongly condemned recent terror incidents, including the attacks in Pahalgam and near the Red Fort, and committed to pursuing designations for ISIS, al-Qa’ida, and JeM affiliates under the UN 1267 regime.
Following this, the 3rd Quad Counterterrorism Working Group (CTWG) meeting on December 4-5 brought together India, Japan, Australia, and the US to address operational challenges. The group conducted a Tabletop Exercise (TTx) on urban counterterrorism operations and reviewed outcomes from India-hosted workshops on combating terrorist use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and emerging technologies for terror financing. The discussions underscored a shared resolve to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, securing it against cross-border terrorism and the misuse of AI and drones.
Policy Relevance
These meetings mark a critical shift from diplomatic condemnation to operational interoperability and legal enforcement. For India, the US designation of TRF validates its stance on proxy groups, while the Quad’s focus on urban warfare simulations and anti-drone technology signals the grouping’s evolution into a practical security provider capable of addressing non-traditional asymmetric threats in the Indo-Pacific.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How will the Ministry of Home Affairs and MEA leverage the new Quad operational frameworks to upgrade domestic standard operating procedures (SOPs) for countering drone-based terror threats in urban centers?
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