says the Indian leader's arrival Friday comes as "the question of South China Sea has come up in a big way."
FILE - A Chinese Coast Guard ship (top) is seen near a
Vietnam Marine Guard vessel in the South China Sea, about 210 km (130
miles) off shore of Vietnam, May 14, 2014.
"Narendra Modi's visit actually is the strong indication of India
showing its friendship, camaraderie, solidarity with Vietnam,
particularly at the time when Vietnam is facing lots of pressure in the
region from China," said the former senior Indian diplomat, who once
worked in Southeast Asia.Modi's Hanoi stopover, which will make him the first Indian prime minister to visit Vietnam in over a decade, comes one day before he'll join the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou, China.
According to Ngo Xuan Binh, director of the Institute of Indian and Southwest Asian Studies in Hanoi, defense is a key part of "traditional" Hanoi-New Delhi relations, and there are mixed reactions among the Vietnamese public.
"Some say Modi's visit to Vietnam before participating in the G20 summit shows how important Hanoi is to New Delhi, and it's also a signal to China," he said. "However, others say the visit has little impact on China, as it is a big partner of Beijing in many aspects."
FILE - India's Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles,
mounted on a truck, pass by during a full dress rehearsal for the
Republic Day parade in New Delhi, January 23, 2006.
But Binh also says the recent tribunal ruling in The Hague, which
dealt a legal blow to China's maritime claims, may bring India and
Vietnam into closer diplomatic orbit. Vietnamese experts on Indian
affairs, for example, have cited sources claiming that Hanoi entered
high-level negotiations in June with New Delhi to buy BrahMos cruise
missiles — the world's highest-velocity anti-ship cruise missile
currently in operation — which has prompted concerns from Beijing.According to IHS Janes, "talks in Hanoi included the option of stationing a team of Indian technicians in the Southeast Asian country to offer the Vietnamese assistance in using the [BrahMos] system," and that New Delhi officials suggest the weapons transfer might be imminent.
Vietnamese media quoted Indian Ambassador to Hanoi P. Harish as saying this week that New Delhi also hopes to reach agreements with Hanoi in areas of cooperation such as science, technology, defense and security. But it is unclear whether the two sides will sign any deal on BrahMos.
The Stockholm-based International Peace Research Institute recently reported that Vietnam was the eighth-largest arms importer in the world from 2011 to 2015, up from 43rd in the previous five-year period, and that India is one of the largest weapons exporters to Vietnam.
Rising tensions over the South China Sea maritime region in recent years have driven Vietnam to buy arms to defend itself.
No comments :
Post a Comment