India and Vietnam signed a Vision Agreement to broaden the “scope and scale” of defence ties by 2030, as well as a logistics support arrangement that allows the forces of the two countries to use each other’s facilities for supply repair and replenishment.
The signing of the two documents came after Minister of Defence, Rajnath Singh, had “fruitful” talks in Hanoi with Vietnam’s Minister of Defence, General Phan Van Giang. This wass seen as a major step forward in India-Vietnam strategic ties, as both countries are concerned about China’s growing influence in the South China Sea.
Both Ministers also agreed to expedite the completion of India’s US$ 500 million defence Line of Credit (LoC) with Vietnam. Singh also announced the gift of two simulators and monetary grants for the establishment of a language and IT laboratory at the Air Force Officers Training School to help the Vietnamese armed forces build capabilities.
Singh said the close defence and security cooperation between India and Vietnam is an important factor for stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
“In these times of increasing cooperative engagements between the defence forces of the two countries, this (logistics pact) is a major step towards simplifying procedures for mutually beneficial logistic support and is the first such major agreement which Vietnam has signed with any country,” it said in a statement.
Singh, who arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday on a three-day visit, also called on Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the discussions were focused on overall strategic ties between the two countries.
The two defence ministers signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’ that provides for expansion of defence and military ties in diverse areas, officials said.
“Had an excellent meeting with General Phan Van Giang, the Defence Minister of Vietnam. We renewed interactions on expanding bilateral cooperation. Our close Defence and Security cooperation is an important factor of stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Singh tweeted.
He said the “wide-ranging discussions” were focused on “effective and practical” initiatives to further expand bilateral engagements, adding regional and global issues also figured in the talks.
“After our fruitful deliberations, we signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’, which will significantly enhance the scope and scale of our defence cooperation,” he added.
