India on Monday gifted an indigenously built in-service Missile Corvette, INS Kirpan, to Vietnam. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presented India's gift to his Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Gang in Delhi after a session of bilateral dialogues. Rajnath Singh said this will act as a milestone in enhancing the capabilities of the Vietnam People’s Navy, reported news agency ANI. Phan Van Gang is on a two-day visit to India. Both sides are reviewing their progress on various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives. Officials from both countries expressed their satisfaction with the ongoing engagements.
An official release by the ministry of defence said, “Both ministers identified means to enhance existing areas of collaboration, especially in the field of defence industry cooperation, maritime security and multinational cooperation.”
The two nations have been putting special emphasis on boosting defence ties and reviewing the situation in the South China Sea. Notably, the South China Sea region has witnessed growing Chinese assertiveness in the recent past.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan was among the officials who attended the bilateral talks.
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As part of his engagements, Phan Van Gang visited the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) headquarters, where he discussed ways to enhance defence industrial capabilities through cooperation in defence research and joint production, reported PTI. The defence ministry stated Vietnam is a critical partner in India's Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific region.
The diplomatic relations between both countries were elevated to the level of "strategic partnership" during the visit of Vietnam's then-prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung to India in July 2007. In addition to these, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vietnam in 2016, bilateral relations were further elevated to a "comprehensive strategic partnership".
In recent times, defence engagements between the two nations include wide-ranging contacts between the services, military-to-military exchanges, capacity building, and training programmes, as reported by PTI. Earlier in the day, Phan Van Gang laid a wreath at the National War Memorial and paid homage to the fallen heroes.