August 23, 2017

Last week, Vietnam indicated it has bought Brahmos anti-ship cruise missiles, a weapon the country has long cherished, from India. Without going into the specifics, the Vietnamese foreign ministry said “the procurement of defence equipment by Vietnam is consistent with the policy of peace and self-defence and is the normal practice in national defence”. India, however, claimed that the reports about the deal were “incorrect”. It may be so, but there is no doubt that Hanoi is increasingly coming to be at the centre of India’s “Act East” policy.

Narendra Modi visited Vietnam last year, rather pointedly on his way to China for the G-20 summit. The visit, the first by an Indian prime minister in 15 years, made it clear that New Delhi was no longer hesitant to expand its presence in China’s periphery. The Modi government has made no secret of its desire to play a more assertive role in the Indo-Pacific region. Modi himself has argued that India can be an anchor for peace, prosperity and stability in Asia and Africa. A more ambitious outreach to Vietnam, therefore, should not be surprising.

Although India’s ties with Vietnam have grown considerably in the past few years, it had dilly-dallied on Hanoi’s request to buy Brahmos since 2011, believing the sale would antagonise China.

Read more:

https://scroll.in/article/848025/why-vietnam-is-at-the-centre-of-indias-policy-to-counter-china 

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