India-Vietnam Defence Ties Strengthened Under Joint Vision 2030

Addressing a special briefing on the State Visit of Vietnam's General Secretary and President To Lam, Kumaran said the framework covers capacity building, training of Vietnamese armed forces, UN peacekeeping cooperation, joint exercises, port calls, ship visits, and hydrographic surveys.

"Regarding the specific questions on defence, the basis for our cooperation is the Joint Vision Statement for Defence Partnership 2030. It includes a number of areas from capacity building and training for the Vietnamese armed forces to cooperation in UN peacekeeping, training exchanges, joint military exercises, port calls, and ship visits. We have done a joint hydrographic survey together," he said.

He added that several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) are already operational, including in submarine rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), mutual logistics support, and defence industry cooperation.

"In addition, we have MOUs that are already operational in the areas of submarine rescue and HADR support, mutual logistics support, and cooperation in various aspects of the defence industry. 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.

He further noted that a 500-million-dollar credit line previously announced was also discussed, along with identified defence procurement projects worth 300 million dollars, including high-speed patrol boats and offshore patrol vessels.

"A delegation from the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers visited Vietnam in March 2026 to explore opportunities for defence procurement by Vietnam. The Prime Minister offered help with maintenance and MRO support for platforms that Vietnam has, such as the Sukhoi-30 and the Kilo-class submarines. Regarding lines of credit, during the visit, we discussed the previously announced 500-million-dollar credit line," he said.

On BrahMos missile cooperation, he said Vietnam remains an important partner in the Indo-Pacific and that discussions on multiple defence platforms are ongoing.

"Projects worth 300 million dollars have been identified, including the procurement of 14 high-speed patrol boats and three to four OPVs. The remaining 200 million dollars will involve the next stage of LOCs, which could involve the upgradation of ships belonging to the Vietnam Navy and the purchase of submarine batteries. On BrahMos, in this broad context, I want to state that Vietnam is a very important partner for us in the Indo-Pacific. A strong Vietnam will serve the cause of peace and stability. We do talk about a number of platforms, and the BrahMos platform is one of them," he said.

Kumaran added that India and Vietnam support the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.

"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. We support the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, in particular the 1982 UNCLOS, without resorting to the threat or use of force. We would also like to see a code of conduct that is both substantive and effective, stipulating that it should not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of nations that are not party to these discussions," he said.

He said that India wants to work out a joint venture arrangement with Vietnam on rare earths.

"Regarding rare earths, there is an MOU signed between VNATOM, the Vietnamese agency that regulates rare earth matters, and Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL). Vietnam has a fair amount of rare earth minerals available. We want to work out a joint venture arrangement. Before we do that, IREL will evaluate samples provided by Vietnam in India. Then we would go there to undertake further investigations to see what kind of cooperative structure we want to develop. If necessary, we will form a joint venture to extract, beneficiate, and process the minerals further," he said.

Kumaran added that both leaders broadly discussed the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement, with both sides supporting an early conclusion.

"Finally, on the ITIGA (ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement) review, the discussion between the two leaders was broad, with both sides supporting an early conclusion. India has provided liberalisation to an extent of close to 80%, and we want the overall ASEAN tariff line liberalisation to reach that level. We contend that individual countries should reach at least 70% liberalization, weighted by the size of the economy rather than a simple average. We seem to have arrived at an understanding, and the details are being fleshed out now," he said.

Kumaran said that Vietnam is an important partner of India's Act East policy.

"Our Act East policy is oriented towards achieving peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Trusted partners like Vietnam, given their independent foreign policy and close partnership in the Global South, are drivers of this relationship. President To Lam thanked us for the MRO offer and said he will have his teams study it," he said.

At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, President To Lam, paid a state visit to India from May 5-7.

- ANI