Hanoi (VNA) – Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defence of Vietnam, and Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh co-chaired the 15th Vietnam – India Defence Policy Dialogue in Hanoi on November 10.
At the dialogue, the two sides exchanged views on regional and global situations and issues of shared concern. Sen. 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, bilateral ties have grown increasingly substantive across all pillars, particularly in politics, diplomacy, and defence-security.
Defence collaboration between the two countries has been actively and effectively implemented 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.
Chien reaffirmed Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, 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.
He also reiterated Vietnam’s “Four No’s” defence policy (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) and its stance on resolving disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Looking ahead, he proposed that both sides continue to strengthen delegation exchanges, particularly at the high level; maintain regular dialogue and consultation mechanisms, expand cooperation in training, UN peacekeeping, and defence industry; and promote the implementation of credit and grant assistance packages. He also suggested exploring new cooperation areas such as cybersecurity, military medicine, and search and rescue operations.
Chien affirmed that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence supports India’s efforts to enhance defence cooperation with ASEAN countries, particularly within the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+), and called for closer coordination in multilateral forums, especially those led by ASEAN.
For his part, Rajesh Kumar Singh emphasised that defence cooperation remains a key pillar in India-Vietnam relations, covering a wide range of fields including peacekeeping, professional exchanges, training, and defence industry collaboration.
He highlighted that the upcoming, the Vietnam – India Bilateral Exercise 2025 (VINBAX 2025), scheduled to open in Vietnam on November 11, plays an important role in advancing bilateral defence ties, and expressed India’s support for expanding its scope and scale in the future./.
