Ready to challenge Beijing on its own turf
Narendra Modi’s Vietnam visit reflects a newfound aggression and an evolution in our policy towards the IndiaPacific
In a move of great symbolic significance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vietnam on Friday. It was the first visit by a prime minister to Vietnam in the last 15 years ostensibly to celebrate 10 years of strategic partnership between the two nations. Modi’s visit comes at a time when India-China ties are passing through difficult times given China’s deepening alliance with Pakistan. On Saturday evening he will leave for Hangzhou, in China, to attend the G20 summit.
Under the Modi government India has made no secret of its desire to play a more assertive role in the larger India-Pacific. Modi underlined this in his address to the US Congress in June: “A strong India-US partnership can anchor peace, prosperity and stability from Asia to Africa and from Indian Ocean to the Pacific”.
The Modi government has directed BrahMos Aerospace to expedite the sale of the supersonic BrahMos missile to Vietnam. India has also sold four offshore patrol vessels to Vietnam. This comes at a time when the US has also lifted its ban on sale of lethal military equipment to Vietnam.
The two nations also have stakes in ensuring sea-lane security, as well as shared concerns about Chinese access to the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Hence, India is helping Vietnam to build capacity for repair and maintenance of its defence platforms.
The two countries potentially share a common friend — the US. New Delhi has a burgeoning relationship with Washington with the two signing a logistical support agreement this week, while Vietnam has been courting the US as the South China Sea becomes a flashpoint.
Hanoi has been publicly sparring with Beijing over the South China Sea for the last few years, so such a response was expected.
What was new, however, was New Delhi’s new-found aggression in taking on Beijing. It immediately decided to support Hanoi’s claims. By accepting the Vietnamese invitation to explore oil and gas in Blocks 127 and 128, India not only expressed its desire to deepen friendship with Vietnam, but ignored China’s warning to stay away. This display of backbone helped India strengthen its relationship with Vietnam.
Hanoi is gradually becoming the linchpin of this eastward move by New Delhi. Hanoi fought a brief war with Beijing in 1979 and has grown wary of the Middle Kingdom’s increasing economic and military weight. That’s why in some quarters of New Delhi, Vietnam is already seen as a counterweight in the same way Pakistan has been for China.
If China wants to expand its presence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region, New Delhi’s thinks that India can do the same thing in East Asia. And if China can have a strategic partnership with Pakistan ignoring Indian concerns, India can develop robust ties with Vietnam on China’s periphery without giving China a veto on such relationships.
Modi’s Vietnam visit underscores the evolution in India’s policy towards the India-Pacific. New Delhi seems ready to challenge Beijing on its own turf. And for the moment at least, this stance is being welcomed by states like Vietnam who fear the growing aggression of China. A more engaged India will also lead to a more stable balance of power in the region.