In what will strengthen defence ties, Vietnam has requested the Indian Navy to help train Vietnamese naval personnel on Russian-built kilo-class submarines. Vietnam has already been extending special privileges to Indian naval warships to berth at their ports. The two countries have shared close ties for decades and both have been the victims of Chinese aggression in the past.
India recently held defence secretary-level talks with Vietnam. India is also keen to sell the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, jointly developed with Russia, to Vietnam. India could also offer its experience in ship-building to Vietnam, which currently has a small Navy.
China, meanwhile, has been increasingly nervous about growing Indo-Vietnamese defence ties since it is anxious about the presence of the Indian Navy in the South China Sea which China considers its own backyard.
China and Vietnam also have maritime disputes over the oil-rich Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea. The northern part of Vietnam is also not far from the Chinese island of Hainan where China is reportedly stationing some of its submarines.
India had earlier taken the first tentative steps towards establishing a “sustainable maritime presence” in the South China Sea, not far from the Chinese mainland. Vietnam had allowed Indian naval warships to drop anchor at its Nha Trang port during naval goodwill visits.
At the time, the Indian Navy was perhaps the only foreign Navy to have been given this privilege.
