Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Giang. He is on a two-day visit to India.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and other top officials from the Ministry of Defence also attended the meeting. The two sides have focused on further boosting bilateral defence ties and reviewing the situation in the South China Sea, a region that has witnessed growing Chinese assertiveness.
Both sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Relations between the two countries elevated to the level of ‘strategic partnership. Thus during the visit of Vietnam’s then-Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to India in July 2007.
In 2016, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vietnam, bilateral relations further elevated to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” With India stressing its Act East policy.
Vietnam has emerged as a key partner, and defence engagements between the two nations include wide-ranging contacts. It thus between the services, military-to-military exchanges, capacity building, and training programmes.
During Rajnath Singh ’s visit to Vietnam in June 2022, a joint vision statement on the India-Vietnam defence partnership. And a Memorandum of Understanding on mutual logistics support hasinked.