It is long believed Vietnam can be
to India what Pakistan is to China.
Barely 90 days after Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Puch’s trip to
India as Chief Guest for Republic Day Parade, Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang,
second in power hierarchy was is India on a three-day state visit on March 2nd.
Quang’s visit marks 45 years of India’s
diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Further, the quick succession of
high-profile visits to India highlights the growing strategic ties between both
countries. Amidst escalating volatility in the South China Sea, wary of
national security, Vietnam has called on India to play an active role in the
region.
With China buttressing Pearls of
String doctrine and PLAN making frequent visits to Eastern Indian Ocean, India
too is steadily bolstering engagement with Vietnam to checkmate China’s
encirclement with a counter encirclement. Vietnam has been a key component of
India’s Act East Policy. India and Vietnam’s strategic alignment is reinforced
by shared mutual concerns of Chinese aggression and unresolved territorial
disputes. China’s ever increasing military assertion in the SCS region and its
conflicting claims over the Paracel and Spartly Islands with Vietnam has
promoted it to look forward to India. Unlike other ASEAN countries, Vietnam is
now the only country in the region that strongly resists Chinese aggression. To
counter Chinese belligerence, Vietnam is now drawing closer to US. As a
testimony to growing convergence in 2016, US lifted embargo on arms and marking
a new beginning USS Carl Vinson is going to land at Danang to join Vietnam
Navy’s in joint disaster rescue exercises. This marks first US aircraft to
visit Vietnam since 1975. Besides, Vietnam is actively seeking friendly ties
with Japan, to effectively resist China in the region.
Foundations for an exceptionally
warm relation was laid down by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Ho
Chi Minh. India established diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1972 and conferred
Most Favored Nation Status in 1975. Both sides signed bilateral trade agreement
in 1978. By 1992, under the Look East policy, India strengthened ties and
promoted trade relations with Vietnam and ever since bilateral trade began to
steadily improve. India is now one of the top ten trading partners of Vietnam
with bilateral trade volumes accounting for $7.62 billion. Vietnam is fourth
largest trade partner of India in ASEAN. As of now, India has made investments
to a tune of $1 billion in Vietnam. Like India, Vietnam is projected to have
higher growth potential and has become favorite destination for investments.
During the current visit, both sides agreed to increase bilateral trade to $15
billion by 2020. In 2003, India and Vietnam signed a declaration for creating
an “arc of advantage and prosperity”.
Reinvigorating ties with Vietnam, Prime Minister Modi in 2016 on his visit to
Hanoi, elevated ties to Comprehensive
Strategic partnership. India provided $100 million line of credit for
purchase of patrol boats and $500 million Line of Credit for defence
cooperation.
Defence cooperation has emerged as
strong pillar of strategic partnership since inking of MoU in 2009. Indian
ships frequently make port calls to Vietnam. Vietnam for the first time
participated in the International Fleet Review-2016 at Visakhapatnam. Besides,
both sides revved up cooperation through institutional mechanisms and
high-level bilateral visits, annual security dialogues, military to military
cooperation. India is offering training to Vietnam military in operating
kilo-class submarines and Su-30 fighter jets. Aware of Vietnam’s interest in
Brahmos Missiles, no sooner arms embargo was lifted, defense minister Manohar
Parrikar flew to Vietnam to expedite sale. But as of now, both sides failed to
reach an agreement. Recently, India and Vietnam jointly conducted military
exercises for six weeks in Madhya Pradesh.
Aside commonality in strategic
interests, China is highly averse to Indo-Vietnam joint commercial oil exploration
in the regions claimed by Vietnam in SCS. Much to the consternation of China,
on his current visit, President Quang welcomed Indian business “to expand oil and gas exploration and
exploitation activities on land and in the continental shelf and in exclusive
economic zone” and signed MoU for similar collaboration in oil exploration
projects in third world countries. Both sides inked MoUs on economic and trade
cooperation, agriculture and providing technical cooperation in the field of
atomic energy for civilian purposes. Alongside, India and Vietnam have agreed
to strengthen cooperation in maritime domain, anti-piracy, security of sea
lanes, exchange of information on white water shipping and called for building
consensus towards early conclusion of the Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism (CCIT). To cement people to people relations, trade and
economic ties both sides agreed to actively seek possibilities of extending the
India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway further to Vietnam through Cambodia
and Lao PDR and establishment of direct shipping routes. Ramping up scientific
cooperation, countries signed an agreement in 2016 for setting up satellite
tracking and reception center in Ho Chi Minh city to monitor Indian satellite
launches.
President Quang after receiving
traditional guard of honor held talks with his counterpart President Ramnath
Kovind, met Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, Speaker of Loksabha
Sumitra Mahajan and opposition leader Sonia Gandhi. Lauding India’s peaceful
development, Quang in his speech called upon Delhi to assume a more pro-active
role in the Indo-Pacific region. He said, “we
are glad to note that in recent years India’s rise has been closely linked with
the prosperity and affluence of Asia as a whole. India’s peaceful development
has always worked as an important constructive factor to regional peace and
stability. With her vast potential and great contributions, India surely
deserves a greater role in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and the World”. In
a bid to intensify the historical and religious ties between countries, India
has extended line of credit towards restoration and preservation of Hoa Lai
Tower and Po Klong Garai Cham Towers. In 2016, Modi actively pursued the
religious connect between the country and pushed for preservation of ancient
monuments that symbolize thousands of years of friendship endured by both the
countries. Subscribing to the intent of intensifying religious cooperation,
President Quang landed in Bodh Gaya, Bihar before reaching New Delhi.
Affirming their firm support
towards freedom of navigation and transparency in trade both countries, in a
veiled reference to China, “reiterated
the importance of achieving peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region where
sovereignty and international law, freedom of navigation and overflight,
sustainable development and a free, fair and open trade investment system are
respected”. They expressed complete faith in international ruling of 1982
United Nations Convention on the laws of the sea (UNCLOS), called for “implementation of international legal
obligations in good faith, the maintenance of freedom of navigation and
over-flight in SCS, full respect for diplomatic and legal processes, peaceful
settlement of disputes without resorting to the threat or use of force, and in
accordance with international law”. Further they called for effective
implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in SCS and
anticipated for an early conclusion of substantive code of conduct in the SCS.
Further India pledged support to Vietnam for the non-permanent membership at
UNSC and Vietnam has reiterated the same for India’s bid to UNSC.
Shared concerns of India and
Vietnam have brought them together in recent times. With China rapidly militarizing
reclaimed features in SCS, Vietnam is anticipating energetic support and
participation of India. Though India enthusiastically revved up strategic and
defence cooperation, it is yet to seal the purchase of much touted Brahmos
missiles to Vietnam. India must quickly address Vietnam’s concerns to fortify
relations with ASEAN countries at a time when China’s burgeoning aggression is
looming large over the region.
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