India hands over warship to Vietnam, with an eye on China
“Vietnam serves as an important partner in India’s ‘Indo-Pacific Vision’, which aims to strengthen ties and develop partnerships towards keeping the region safe, secure and stable,” Admiral Kumar said, presiding over the ceremony at Cam Ranh.
NEW DELHI: India on Saturday handed over missile corvette INS Kirpan to Vietnam, with Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar stressing the convergence of views between the two countries on the Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s belligerence in the region.
“Vietnam serves as an important partner in India’s ‘Indo-Pacific Vision’, which aims to strengthen ties and develop partnerships towards keeping the region safe, secure and stable,” Admiral Kumar said, presiding over the ceremony at Cam Ranh.
“The recent signing of the ‘joint vision statement on IndiaVietnam defence partnership towards 2030’ will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing security collaboration and ensure that no ‘single’ nation can
unilaterally alter or misinterpret rules to serve its own interests in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh had announced the “gifting” of INS Kirpan, the 1,450-tonne Khukri-class missile
corvette in service with the Indian Navy, during his meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Giang in New Delhi on June 19, in yet another military outreach to the Southeast Asian country.
China has been regularly sending warships and survey vessels into Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ),
fuelling tensions in the already contentious South China Sea due to Beijing’s expansionist territorial claims against its neighbours.
India has been steadily upgrading defence ties with Asean countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore and the
Philippines through regular joint exercises, military exchanges and training programmes. Towards this end,
India is now looking to also step-up training of Vietnamese personnel in submarine and fighter jet operations, cybersecurity and electronic warfare, among other fields.
