Indo-Vietnamese defence cooperation to get another boost

New Delhi: With India and Vietnam accelerating bilateral cooperation in commercial and strategic sectors, defence ties will receive a boost with a top Vietnamese military delegation arriving next week to discuss a number of joint actions. These will include combat exercises, training and other related areas.

Led by Lt General Pham Zuan Hung, the Vietnamese Army's deputy chief of general staff, the eight member delegation will hold talks with navy chief, admiral Nirmal Verma, army chief Gen VK Singh and chief of integrated defence staff, vice admiral Shekhar Sinha, among others.

The week-long visit begins Monday.

The delegation will visit the Agra airbase and also the new officers' training academy in Gaya.

India has agreed to help Vietnam with intensive training in submarine operations and other related areas. Defence minister AK Antony has promised all support to Vietnam to upgrade the capabilities of its armed forces.

Both India and Vietnam are wary of China's "increasingly assertive behaviour" in the region. India is supplying spares for the Russian-origin Petya class warships and OSA-II class missile boats of Vietnamese Navy, training its military personnel in information technology and English language skills, apart from holding joint exercises.