Defence Minister begins Vietnam, South Korea visit to boost defence, Indo-Pacific cooperation

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday begins an official visit to Vietnam and South Korea aimed at strengthening strategic military cooperation, defence industrial partnerships and maritime collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region.

In a post on X, Singh said, "Today, 18th May, I shall be reaching Hanoi. Looking forward to visiting Vietnam and South Korea this week to further expand the scope of our engagement."

Today, 18th May, I shall be reaching Hanoi. Looking forward to visiting Vietnam and South Korea this week to further expand the scope of our engagement. I will focus on deepening strategic military cooperation, strengthening defence industrial partnerships, and boosting...- Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 18, 2026

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The Defence Minister said his discussions during the visit would focus on expanding defence ties and enhancing regional cooperation. "I will focus on deepening strategic military cooperation, strengthening defence industrial partnerships, and boosting maritime collaboration, promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region," he said.

Earlier on May 6, during the state visit of the Vietnamese President, To Lam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and To Lam reaffirmed that defence and security cooperation is a key pillar of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two nations. India and Vietnam agreed to further strengthen cooperation and enhance engagements in both traditional and emerging areas of defence cooperation and decided to enhance defence systems procurement between the two countries.

According to the joint statement, defence cooperation would be strengthened across areas including defence policy dialogue, joint exercises, staff talks, joint research and co-production of new defence technologies, enhanced port calls by Naval vessels and Air force aircrafts, peacekeeping activities, information sharing, hydrography, defence exhibitions, capacity building, defence industrial cooperation, maritime security, maritime safety, and search and rescue operations based on mutual interest and priorities of the two countries, which will also contribute to greater stability in the wider Indo-Pacific region.

The leaders welcomed the steady progress in the implementation of the Defence Lines of Credit extended by India for Vietnam, which have contributed to strengthening Vietnam's defence capabilities and advancing bilateral defence cooperation.

The statement noted that the leaders expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the bilateral defence agreements, including the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, the Memorandum of Agreement on Submarine Search and Rescue Support and Cooperation, and the Letter of Intent on Strengthening Defence Industrial Cooperation.

Meanwhile, on April 20, India and the Republic of Korea agreed to significantly deepen their strategic partnership with a focus on defence cooperation, economic security, industrial collaboration and emerging technologies, while reaffirming their shared vision of a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed South Korean President Lee on his first visit to India, highlighting the shared values and common Indo-Pacific vision between the two countries as New Delhi hosts the first presidential visit from the Republic of Korea in eight years.

The two sides underlined the importance of closer coordination on regional and global strategic developments and agreed to expand institutional dialogue mechanisms between senior officials. This includes planned meetings under defence industry cooperation frameworks and a proposed 2+2 dialogue between foreign and defence officials at the vice minister level.

Both leaders also agreed to enhance consultations on emerging security challenges and strengthen cooperation through structured mechanisms such as the India-ROK Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue. They further announced the launch of an Economic Security Dialogue aimed at strengthening supply chains, promoting diversification and advancing cooperation in critical technologies.