India and Vietnam discuss defence ties, emphasise maintaining regional stability

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Vietnam Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Truong Thang on Sunday discussed advancing regional security and deepening the bilateral ‘Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ between the two countries.

This meeting followed a high-level discussion between the prime ministers of both countries that took place on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said the discussions centred on accelerating joint initiatives, technology sharing and defence industrial collaboration.

The two sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to expanding maritime and defence ties to ensure a peaceful, stable, and rule-based regional security architecture, it noted. The statement added that India and Vietnam strongly emphasised the value of close coordination in multilateral fora to address complex security dynamics and specifically highlighted the importance of active engagement under the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) construct.

“Both sides reaffirmed their joint commitment to enhancing practical defence cooperation through ASEAN-led mechanisms, noting that collaborative platforms like the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Groups are vital for maintaining regional stability and building collective security architectures in the Indo-Pacific,” the statement noted.

The two sides agreed on the scheduled conduct of the next Defence Policy Dialogue to be hosted in India on the sidelines of Aero India 2027. Over the last few years, the defence cooperation between India and Vietnam has deepened substantially.

This includes Defence Policy Dialogues, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes, cooperation in UN Peacekeeping, ship visits and bilateral exercises between the two countries.

In May this year, Singh had officially confirmed that India has signed a deal with Vietnam for the ‌supply of the BrahMos missiles and is in the “final stages” of inking a similar deal with Indonesia. Earlier, in the same month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had met his Vietnamese counterpart, General Phan Van Giang, in Hanoi, where they reviewed the growing defence partnership between the two countries and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in maritime security, defence industry, training and regional stability.

In 2022, India handed over 12 high-speed guard boats to Vietnam at a ceremonial event. The following year, India gifted the INS Kirpan to Vietnam, providing it with its complete weapon complement after decommissioning the vessel following 32 years of service.

This development was significant in the context of growing Chinese influence in the South China Sea, which has led to territorial disputes with Vietnam. Amrita Nayak Dutta writes on defence and national security as part of the national bureau of The Indian Express.

In the past, Amrita has extensively reported on the media industry and broadcasting matters, urban affairs, bureaucracy and government policies. In the last 14 years of her career, she has worked in newspapers as well as in the online media space and is well versed with the functioning of both newsrooms.

Amrita has worked in the northeast, Mumbai and Delhi. She has travelled extensively across the country, including in far-flung border areas, to bring detailed reports from the ground and has written investigative reports on media and defence.

She has been working for The Indian Express since January 2023. ... Read More