Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: As part of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and to counter China’s growing influence in southeast Asia, PM Modi has discussed boosting defence cooperation with Vietnam’s visiting President To Lam, including the sale of BrahMos cruise missile, with New Delhi calling Hanoi “an important partner in the Indo-Pacific”.The leaders reaffirmed that defence and security cooperation is a key pillar of India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They commended the effective implementation of the joint vision statement on the partnership, which continues to guide growing defence ties between the two countries.Giving details, P Kumaran, secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said on Wednesday, “On BrahMos, …I want to broadly state that Vietnam is a very important partner for us in the Indo-Pacific and all these areas that we cooperate in are based on the broad premise that a strong Vietnam will serve the cause of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. We do talk about a number of platforms and BrahMos platform is also one of them and you know, watch this space.”Kumaran said that the defence partnership framework covers capacity building, training of Vietnamese armed forces, UN peacekeeping cooperation, joint exercises, port calls, ship visits and hydrographic surveys.He said several MoUs are already operational, including in submarine rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, mutual logistics support and defence industry cooperation. “We are pursuing an agreement on white shipping information sharing, cybersecurity and AI-enhanced security measures. There is also ongoing cooperation on transnational crime involving the navies and the coast guards,” he said.“A delegation from the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers visited Vietnam in March 2026 to explore opportunities for defence procurement by Vietnam. The PM offered help with maintenance and MRO support for platforms that Vietnam has, such as the Sukhoi-30 and the Kilo-class submarines,” Kumaran said.He further said a 500-million-dollar credit line previously announced was also discussed, along with identified defence procurement projects worth $300 million, including 14 high-speed patrol boats and three offshore patrol vessels. “The remaining $200 million will involve the next stage of line of credits, which could involve the upgradation of ships belonging to the Vietnam Navy and the purchase of submarine batteries,” he said.“On UNCLOS and the South China Sea, our position is well-documented. We uphold the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation and overflight,” he said. The Indian delegation thanked the Vietnamese side for inviting India to take part in its nuclear power sector.
