Hanoi: Vietnam is looking at buying BrahMos missiles which is jointly manufactured by Russia and India. Vietnam is said to have requested India for submarine training and for conversion training for its pilots to fly Sukhoi-30 aircrafts.
Southeast Asian and Latin American countries have shown interest in acquiring the 290km range weapon system and it is possible to export the missile to certain friendly nations. Defence Ministry sources in Delhi said Vietnam and Indonesia in South East Asia and Venezuela in Latin America have expressed willingness to procure the missile.
Another key area for cooperation is the oil sector. In a move that could rile China, which has publicly asked New Delhi to stay off from the resource-rich South China Sea, India is assessing whether to explore in five new blocks that have been offered by Vietnam. Indian diplomats remained tight-lipped about the kind of agreements that would be signed during Mukherjee’s visit in middle of next month.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj chaired a brain storming session with 15 Indian Heads of Mission in South East and East Asia in Hanoi to chart out the foreign policy initiatives to be undertaken in the region.
The new BJP government is placing high emphasis on Vietnam as a strategically important country.
Official sources said the meeting is a way to chart out the future roadmap and to get a frank assessment about the Indian foreign policy in the region and its potential. “The meetings will also look at possibility of extending India’s soft power in the region, especially by creating cultural linkages,” a diplomatic source said.
Swaraj has also called for a a meeting of ASEAN envoys and China.
The BJP-led government is keen to establish friendly and cultural ties with the countries in the region. Swaraj, who is here on a bilateral visit, has stressed on the need for an ‘Act East Policy’ that she said should replace India’s over two decade-old ‘Look East Policy’.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin had said her visit to Vietnam was part of the Act East Policy. “She has said it is not enough to Look East but Act East. This is Act East in action. We began with the focus on neighbourhood and this has now moved on with focus on ASEAN. Our Prime Minister is going to Japan, so it further moves eastwards,” Akbaruddin had said.
India is keen to boost its ties in the region especially with ASEAN. Stressing on the need for strong connectivity within ASEAN, Swaraj has said that there is a need to look at a more “functional visa regime” in the grouping. She said the new government in India was a strong believer in a participative approach to bring together the members of the strategic community, the Industry, the experts and professionals and the youth in India and ASEAN countries to further the common agenda of development, progress and prosperity.
India and Vietnam are likely to sign key agreements in the field of defence, trade and culture during the visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to this strategically-important country next month. While India has decided to ramp up its engagement with Vietnam in the oil sector and deepen defence ties, Hanoi wants it to do more especially in maintaining freedom of navigation, maritime safety and security in the disputed South China Sea.
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