Dr. Rajaram Panda
India and Vietnam held the 15th Defence Policy Dialogue in Hanoi on 10 November. While India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh represented India, Vietnam was represented by Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defence. Both co-chaired the dialogue session. In the dialogue, both sides took significant steps to reinforce their defence partnership with the signing of two major agreements.
At the dialogue, the two sides exchanged views on regional and global situations and issues of shared concern. Lt. Gen. Chien underlined that the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and India have been deepened. Since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vietnam, bilateral ties have grown increasingly substantive across all pillars, particularly in politics, diplomacy, and defence-security.
Both the countries have deepened defence collaboration between the two countries in various areas, including delegation exchanges and high-level contacts, dialogue and consultation mechanisms, young officer exchanges, training and education, cooperation among services and arms, UN peacekeeping operations, and defence industry development. Vietnam’s foreign policy has remained fiercely independent with focus on self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, diversification and multilateralisation of external relations. Vietnam is ready to cooperate with all countries and international organisations for peace and development.
There are “Four No’s” in Vietnam’s defence policy that underlay in the country’s defence strategy. These are not participating in military alliances, not affiliating with one country to oppose another, not allowing foreign countries to establish military bases or use Vietnamese territory to oppose other countries, and not using force or threatening to use force in international relations. Its stance on resolving disputes in the South China Sea by peaceful means based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) remains firm.
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