Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday met his Vietnamese counterpart, General Phan Van Giang, in Hanoi, where they reviewed the growing partnership between the two countries and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in maritime security, defence industry, training, and regional stability.
As per a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence, the two sides exchanged views on regional and global security developments of mutual interest and emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The statement added that they discussed avenues to expand cooperation in areas including military training, defence industry collaboration, maritime security, capacity building, United Nations peacekeeping, cyber security, and high-level exchanges. They also agreed to enhance cooperation between the defence forces through regular dialogues, joint exercises and exchange programmes.
The bilateral defence engagements have expanded over the years and include wide-ranging contacts between the two countries, such as Defence Policy Dialogues, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity-building and training programmes, cooperation in UN peacekeeping, ship visits, and bilateral exercises.
In June 2022, when Singh last visited Hanoi, both countries signed a Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership Towards 2030 and also inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on mutual logistics support to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation.
India had handed over 12 high-speed guard boats to Vietnam at the time and also announced gifting two simulators and a monetary grant towards setting up a language and IT lab at the Air Force Officers Training School.
In July 2023, India gifted the INS Kirpan to Vietnam, complete with its entire weapon complement, after decommissioning it following 32 years of service. This marked the first instance where India gifted an indigenously built missile corvette to Vietnam. The development was significant amid a growing Chinese influence in the South China Sea, which had led to territorial disputes with Vietnam.
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Vietnam, among others, have been looking at buying BrahMos supersonic missiles from India.
The statement noted that Singh reaffirmed the commitment to strengthening India’s enhanced comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam, while reiterating India’s resolve to support that country’s defence modernisation and capacity enhancement initiatives.
“General Phan Van Giang appreciated India’s continued support and underscored the long-standing friendship and growing strategic partnership between the two nations,” it added.
Language lab at Air Force Officers’ College
The statement further noted that the two defence ministers virtually inaugurated the language lab at Air Force Officers’ College in Vietnam, which has been established with Indian assistance.
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Singh also announced the setting up of an artificial intelligence lab at Telecommunications University in Nha Trang. Additionally, the Military College of Telecommunications Engineering, India, and Telecommunications University, Vietnam, also signed an MoU in the field of artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
Singh also spoke to Vietnamese President To Lam and reiterated India’s commitment to further deepening bilateral cooperation across diverse sectors, including defence and security, trade and investment, maritime cooperation, connectivity, digital transformation and people-to-people exchanges.
“The two leaders reaffirmed the strong and enduring friendship between India and Vietnam, rooted in shared civilisational links, mutual trust and common strategic interests. They expressed satisfaction at the continued growth of the India–Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” the defence ministry statement said.
