Defence supplies from India helpful: Vietnam

HANOI: After India's denial that it has already supplied BrahMos anti-ship cruise missiles to Vietnam, Hanoi has underlined the significance of defence ties between the two countries saying it will continue to purchase military equipment from India to defend its sovereignty.

In an exclusive interaction with TOI, Vietnam's ambassador to India, Ton Sinh Thanh, said Vietnam would continue to seek greater Indian role in exploring oil and gas blocks off the coast of Vietnam in the South China Sea, despite the opposition from China, as these fell in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone.

Accusing China of having changed the status quo in the South China Sea (SCS), the ambassador said people could see for themselves if the situation there was similar to the one witnessed at Doklam where In dian and Chinese soldiers were a standoff for two months.

“The status quo in SCS has been changed by Chinese construction of artificial islands and installation of military equipment that threaten the freedom of naviga h tion in that area. So you can see for yourself whether it is similar to what happened in Doklam,“ said Thanh.

On BrahMos missiles, Ton said that while he had no “specific information“ about what equipment was being purchased by Vietnam from India, he asserted that Vietnam will buy military equipment only for self-defence.