Aware that China will definitely protest, India and Vietnam have signed an agreement for the former to supply four naval vessels to Hanoi, part of a US$100 billion line of credit signed last month.

Additionally, Vietnam has offered India exploration rights for two additional oil and gas blocks in the South China Sea region, to which Beijing immediately reacted by warning that it will firmly oppose any exploration activity in South China Sea if it undermines its "sovereignty and interests."

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India Times reports that the naval vessel deal is also part of India's commitment to help in enhancing the Southeast Asian nation's military training program. On a two-day visit by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to New Delhi, the two countries also decided to increase cooperation in the field of hydrocarbon, civil nuclear energy and space development. 

"Our defence cooperation with Vietnam is among our most important ones. India remains committed to the modernisation of Vietnam's defence and security forces," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi said following his talks with his Vietnamese counterpart.

Dung's visit followed close on the heels of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Vietnam in September, when the agreement for the US$100 billion defense-oriented Letter of Credit was signed. 

The two sides signed seven agreements including pacts in the oil exploration sector, and in the field of culture, tourism and English language training.

Official Indian sources said the scope of India-Vietnam defence relationships will be enhanced to include expanding bilateral training programs, which is already very substantial. Joint exercises and cooperation in defence equipment will also increase according to the sources. 

The decision to boost defence and security ties happens as Vietnam continues to complain about China's aggression in the South China Sea. 

Vietnam wants the naval vessels for surveillance off its coastlines and around what it says are its military bases in the Spratly island chain in the South China Sea, where it is building a credible naval deterrent to China. 

Another Indian military source revealed that discussions about training Vietnam Air Force pilots to fly Sukhoi jetfighters have been initiated. India is already training the Vietnamese Navy personnel in operating the Russian-manufactured Kilo-class submarines among other areas. 

Modi and Dung, in a joint statement, also called for "restraint" and "freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea, where China is embroiled in a bitter dispute not only with Vietnam but also with the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

TagsDelhi, Vietnamese Navy