India on June 9 formally handed over the 12 high-speed guard boats constructed under the government of India’s $100 million defence Line of Credit (LoC) to Vietnam at a ceremony at Hong Ha Shipyard during the ongoing visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to the South East Asian nation.
“It gives me great pleasure to join this historic ceremony marking the successful completion of the project to build 12 high-speed guard boats under the $100 million Defence LoC by the government of India. I am confident that this will be a precursor to many more cooperative defence projects between India and Vietnam,” Mr. Singh said speaking at the ceremony.
Stating that this project was an example of the ‘Make in India-Make for the World’ mission, Mr. Singh added, “We would be greatly pleased if close friends like Vietnam become part of our defence industries transformation through enhanced defence industry cooperation.”
The speed boats will be operated by the Vietnamese Border Guard Force. The deal was executed by Larsen & Tourbo and of the 12 boats, five were built in India while the remaining were built in Vietnam with assistance from L&T.
Hanoi has procured the 12 high-speed patrol boats for the Vietnamese border guard force under the LoC extended in September 2014. In 2016, India has extended another $500 million defence LoC to Vietnam and discussions are under way to identify the equipment. During the bilateral talks, the two Defence Ministers had agreed for “early finalisation” of the second LoC.
On Wednesday, India and Vietnam signed a mutual logistics support agreement while the two Defence Ministers signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’, which the Defence Ministry said would significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation.
Mr. Singh also called on Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The visit also comes on the occasion of 50 years of establishment of India-Vietnam diplomatic relations.
