Amid instability, Vietnam president Quang calls for stronger defence ties with India

Ahead of his visit to India, Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang underscored the significance of India's growing defence and security ties with Vietnam by declaring in an exclusive interaction with TOI that these had been "effective" strategic areas of cooperation.
As first reported by TOI, Quang will be in India from March 2-4 to mark completion of 45 years of diplomatic ties between India and Vietnam, an Asean nation fast emerging as the linchpin of India's Act East policy.

The President also stated India's Act East was contributing to an environment of peace and stability in the region and called for the Indian government to play a more active role in southeast Asia in that regard. Quang chose not to respond though to questions on China's defiance of international laws and rules in South China Sea and also on the India-US-Japan-Australia Quadrilateral mechanism.

India and Vietnam have just completed the Year of Friendship to celebrate 45 years of establishment of diplomatic ties, ten years of the Strategic Partnership and one year of theComprehensive Strategic Partnership. What is your evaluation of India - Vietnam relations?

President Tran Dai Quang: Vietnam and India have enjoyed a long-standing traditional friendship with various historical and cultural similarities, which was established by President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and nurtured by successive generations of leaders and people of both countries. The two nations have empathized and supported each other in their struggle for national independence in the past as well as in the national construction and development today.

With trust and many shared interests, the two countries established the Strategic Partnership in July 2007 and upgraded it to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2016. This fine relationship has been concretized in various fields, especially the pillars of politics, national defense, security, economy, trade, investment, culture, science and technology, education and training and people-to-people exchange.

The bilateral political relations have gone from strength to strength thanks to regular mutual visits at the high and lower levels through party-to-party, state-to-state, government-to-government, parliament-to-parliament as well as people-to-people exchanges. The General Secretary, President, Prime Minister and President of the National Assembly of Viet Nam have all visited India. Viet Nam also hosted the visits of the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and National Security Advisor of India. Practical commemorative activities have been hosted by both countries to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the Strategic Partnership.

Bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including the Action Plan 2017-2020, have been effectively implemented, thus facilitating the enhancement of the bilateral cooperation in various areas.

Defense and security have been the effective strategic areas of cooperation. India has actively supported Viet Nam in training, capacity building, defense technology transfer and defense credit.

India continued to be among Viet Nam's top ten largest trading partners as the bilateral trade turnover has increased 16% per annum on average in the past decade. A large number of major Indian firms have established and expanded their footprints in Viet Nam.

India has given priority to Viet Nam in development cooperation and education and training, and paid attention to promoting the bilateral cooperation in science and technology, information and communication, energy, oil and gas, agriculture and tourism.

The cultural bonds and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have also deepened. A large population of Vietnamese are watching Indian dramas and practicing yoga.

Apart from the bilateral frameworks, both countries have also forged close collaboration and effective mutual support at multilateral fora, especially at the United Nations. Viet Nam welcomes India's efforts in and strong commitments to its "Act East" policy as well as to enhancing the connectivity and development cooperation with ASEAN. As the coordinator of ASEAN-India relations for 2015-2018, Viet Nam has worked closely with India to drive the India-ASEAN cooperation further forward.

What's your assessment of India's Act East Policy and how significant is it for you and Asean as a whole?

President Tran Dai Quang: Vietnam has on many occasions affirmed our strong support for India's "Act East" policy and for your country to play a more active role in the maintenance of peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

ASEAN countries and India share many similarities in culture, history and strategic interests. Both sides need to strengthen and deepen the Strategic Partnership, promote economic, trade and investment cooperation development, increase cooperation on land, air, maritime and digital connectivity, and promote cultural and people-to-people exchange.

The implementation of the "Act East" Policy will help deepen the ASEAN - India Strategic Partnership and fulfill the practical interests of both sides. It will also promote the establishment of a sustainable and inclusive regional architecture based on international law, thus contributing to an environment of peace, stability, cooperation and development. Viet Nam and ASEAN will work closely with India in all areas to realize our common goals of a bright future for the Indo-Asia-Pacific.