Asian Power Play: India and Vietnam Strengthen Defense Ties

India trains Vietnamese officers on its soil, offers Vietnam a supersonic missile and other military aid

Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief and Chairman of the Indian Chiefs of Staff Committee N.A.K. Browne (L) gestures while talking with Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam Peoples Army Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty (R) in New Delhi on September 24, 2013. A high-ranking military delegation, led by Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam Peoples Army Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, arrived on a official visit to India at the invitation of Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Chairman of the Indian Chiefs of Staff Committee.The five day visit, ending on September 27, aims to further strengthen the friendly relations and cooperation between the two nations people and armies. AFP PHOTO/ Prakash SINGH Photo credit should read PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images

NEW DELHI, India—In the forests of India’s northeastern region, the Indian Army is training Vietnamese army officers to hone their counter-insurgency fighting skills, an indication of the growing strategic military ties between the two countries.

Three Vietnamese officers are currently training at the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School near the town of Vairengte in Mizoram. Once trained, the officers will in turn pass on their skills to soldiers back home, which will help the Vietnamese army combat insurgents operating in the country’s jungles.

China has been constructing artificial reefs around two islands—something that has been fiercely contested by several regional countries, including Vietnam and India.