India-Vietnam defense ties grow into multiservice partnership

Mandeep Singh

India and Vietnam are advancing defense cooperation across service branches, a broadening of ties that reflects sharpening security concerns and shared interests in regional stability and secure maritime routes.

“India-Vietnam military relations have shifted from strategic dialogue to deep, tactical integration,” Australia-based defense analyst Nguyen The Phuong told FORUM.

The nations agreed in May 2026 to upgrade relations to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the leaders of their coast guards met in India in August to discuss strengthening engagements and operational coordination. The talks came as the maritime forces conducted the second iteration of Exercise SAHYOG HOP-TAC, enhancing tactical interoperability and search and rescue operations during drills in the Bay of Bengal.

Nguyen said New Delhi has built a functional partnership aimed at Hanoi’s operational readiness, with Indian instructors embedded in Vietnamese academies to train fighter pilots and submarine crews.

Hardware transfers are a growing part of the partnership. India gifted the missile corvette INS Kirpan to Vietnam in 2023 and has built 12 high-speed guard boats for Vietnam, Nguyen noted. Meanwhile, New Delhi has agreed to sell its BrahMos coastal missile defense system to Hanoi, and the nations signed a mutual logistics support agreement to streamline refueling and port calls.

India has extended Vietnam a $500 million credit line for defense assets, primarily for patrol vessels, with the remainder potentially supporting naval upgrades and submarine batteries, the website Naval News reported in September 2026. Additionally, India has offered maintenance, repair and overhaul support for Vietnam’s fighter jet and submarine fleets.

“Vietnam is leveraging Indian expertise to gain a comprehensive understanding of how a modern blue-water navy operates, from fleet architecture and logistics to complex operational doctrines,” Nguyen said.

Regular interactions also give the Indian Navy routine access to deep-water facilities at Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay, extending New Delhi’s maritime domain awareness across the South China Sea, he said.

Also in September, Indian and Vietnamese officials met in New Delhi to discuss defense-industry collaboration, technology sharing and accelerating joint initiatives, according to India’s Press Information Bureau.

Cooperation also includes the annual Exercise VINBAX between the nations’ armies to enhance interoperability and United Nations peacekeeping operations.

New Delhi supports information technology and language training at Vietnam’s Air Force Officer School, according to the India-based Centre for Public Policy Research. In May 2026, India’s Military College of Telecommunications Engineering and Vietnam’s Telecommunications University agreed to cooperate on artificial intelligence (AI), also known as super intelligence, and quantum technology, with India pledging to help establish an AI lab at the university in Nha Trang, India’s Defence Ministry stated.

While Hanoi and New Delhi do not enter formal military alliances, Nguyen said, “deeper defense ties directly reinforce, rather than compromise, each nation’s commitment to strategic autonomy.”

Mandeep Singh is a FORUM contributor reporting from New Delhi, India.