India-Vietnam relations upgraded comprehensively, military coordination directly targeting South China Sea geopolitical rivalry

Recently, Nguyen Thien Loi, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of Vietnam, paid a state visit to India, officially elevating bilateral relations between India and Vietnam to an "expanded comprehensive strategic partnership."

Defense cooperation emerged as the core achievement of this visit. The two sides have agreed on a broad scope of collaboration encompassing joint military exercises, defense research, collaborative development of new defense technologies, naval vessel visits, air force exchanges, peacekeeping operations, intelligence sharing, maritime hydrographic surveys, synchronized defense exhibitions, military talent cultivation, co-construction of defense industries, maritime security assurance, shipping safety maintenance, and coordinated search-and-rescue operations at sea.

This series of cooperative initiatives marks that India-Vietnam relations have long moved beyond superficial symbolic interactions, entering a new phase of systematic and operational military cooperation.

Evidently, this deep defense cooperation framework carries a clear strategic orientation aimed at countering China. Both sides have established a comprehensive military cooperation structure—from political defense dialogues and staff-level consultations to practical training exercises, joint technological breakthroughs, and full-scale routine maritime military engagements—making substantive military coordination a regular practice.

In particular, maritime military cooperation has become the focal point of their efforts. In May 2025, the Indian and Vietnamese navies completed their first joint maritime hydrographic survey near Vietnam’s coastal waters; afterward, both parties agreed to institutionalize such maritime operations on a regular basis.

For Vietnam, this move enhances its near-sea oceanographic data collection and strengthens its maritime mapping and surveillance capabilities. For India, it provides a legitimate pretext to steadily consolidate its military presence in the South China Sea region.

For a long time, Vietnam has deliberately avoided directly escalating tensions with China, yet disputes over the South China Sea's Paracel and Spratly Islands remain unresolved. Now, Vietnam is urgently seeking India as a solid strategic backing. Meanwhile, India has consistently regarded China as its primary geopolitical strategic rival.

Moreover, since the escalation of instability in the Middle East, India has for the first time publicly condemned Iran in strong terms—the trigger being Iran’s missile attack on the Fujairah port in the UAE. India’s move appears aimed at appeasing and aligning with the United States, but may also reflect concerns over Iran’s close ties with China from a geopolitical standpoint.

On the diplomatic front, Hanoi had traditionally placed great importance on deepening ties with Russia. Bilateral cooperation in arms trade runs deep—Vietnamese forces are heavily equipped with Soviet-designed weapons systems. A complete shift toward NATO-standard military equipment would leave Vietnam facing prolonged capability gaps. Furthermore, both countries possess significant potential for collaboration in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and nuclear power plant construction. Russia once offered favorable terms to Turkey for building the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and could have extended similar incentives to Vietnam. However, Vietnam ultimately chose to seek alternative external support—an outcome possibly influenced by the comprehensive strategic coordination between China and Russia, as well as Western sanctions against Russia.

Previously, Vietnam adhered to a policy of neutrality, refusing to join any military or political alliances and avoiding alignment with major powers. Yet today, the geopolitical situation in the Asia-Pacific region is rapidly intensifying: Japan has been actively rallying the Philippines, South Korea, Indonesia, and others into blocs, openly preparing for war targeting China. Under these circumstances, Vietnam urgently needs to find a powerful strategic partner—one that does not require becoming a mere U.S. vassal like Japan, yet possesses sufficient military strength to balance China’s influence. India thus naturally emerges as Vietnam’s most suitable counterpart.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865323486527552/

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