India and Vietnam Move to Deepen Army-to-Army and Defence Cooperation

India and Vietnam are moving to deepen military cooperation as senior army leaders from the two countries held talks in New Delhi on expanding defence engagement, strengthening institutional contacts and supporting regional stability.

Chief of Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth received Lieutenant General Le Van Huong, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, during the Vietnamese general’s official visit to India on September 3. The two commanders discussed measures to strengthen defence cooperation and military-to-military engagement, with both armies reaffirming their commitment to regional peace and stability.

Before the talks, Lt Gen Huong paid tribute to India’s fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial in New Delhi and was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour at South Block. He was subsequently received by General Seth for the bilateral military discussions.

The meeting is significant because it forms part of a much broader expansion of India-Vietnam defence relations rather than an isolated military exchange. In May 2026, the two countries upgraded their relationship to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with defence and security identified as one of its central pillars.

The framework envisages cooperation across a wide range of areas including joint exercises, staff talks, military training, maritime security, information sharing, hydrography, peacekeeping, search and rescue, defence-industrial cooperation and joint research and production of defence technologies. India and Vietnam have also agreed to encourage greater defence procurement between the two countries.

Military contacts have accelerated noticeably during 2026. In August, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh visited Vietnam and held talks with senior Vietnamese military leadership. Those discussions focused particularly on greater Air Force-to-Air Force interaction, capacity building and professional exchanges, while also reviewing regional and international security developments.

The latest Army-level engagement therefore complements an expanding pattern of cooperation across the two countries’ armed forces. India has traditionally supported Vietnamese military capacity building through training programmes, while the two countries have progressively widened cooperation into maritime operations, defence technology and military logistics.

Their defence relationship is guided in part by the Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030, which provides a long-term framework for strengthening military exchanges and defence-industrial cooperation. India and Vietnam have also concluded agreements covering mutual logistics support and submarine search-and-rescue cooperation.

Defence-industrial cooperation is becoming an increasingly important part of this relationship. During bilateral defence talks earlier this year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Vietnamese counterpart discussed expanding collaboration in defence manufacturing, including opportunities for joint research, co-development and co-production.

The two countries also share a strong interest in maintaining stability across the wider Indo-Pacific, particularly in the maritime domain. Their official joint framework calls for closer cooperation in maritime security and safety, naval and air-force exchanges, port visits and information sharing, while emphasising adherence to regional peace and stability.

The meeting between General Seth and Lt Gen Huong adds an important Army-to-Army dimension to this expanding partnership. While no new procurement programme or specific military agreement was announced during the talks, the increasing frequency of senior-level exchanges suggests that India and Vietnam are steadily converting their strategic partnership into a more institutionalised defence relationship spanning training, operations, technology and military industry.

For India, Vietnam remains one of its most important defence partners in Southeast Asia and a key element of its Act East policy and Indo-Pacific engagement. For Vietnam, closer defence cooperation with India provides access to military training, defence technology and an established partner with which it shares an interest in maintaining a stable and open regional security environment.

The latest talks therefore mark another step in a defence relationship that is moving beyond periodic diplomatic engagement toward sustained cooperation between the two countries’ armed forces.