Rajnath Singh holds talks with Vietnamese defence minister

The two sides have been focused on further boosting bilateral defence ties and reviewing the situation in the South China Sea, a region that has witnessed growing Chinese assertiveness

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on June 19 held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Giang, who 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.

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The two sides have been focussed on further boosting bilateral defence ties and reviewing the situation in the South China Sea, a region that is subject to growing Chinese assertiveness. Both sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

Relations between the two 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 2016, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vietnam, bilateral relations were further elevated to a "comprehensive strategic partnership."

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With India laying increased emphasis on its Act East policy, Vietnam has emerged as a key partner, and defence engagements between the two nations include wide-ranging contacts between the services, military-to-military exchanges, capacity-building, and training programmes.

During Mr. 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 were inked. Earlier, General Giang inspected the Tri-Service Guard of Honour and paid homage at the National War Memorial with a wreath. General Giang is also scheduled to visit Agra in Uttar Pradesh.