Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam Visits India to Deepen Defense Cooperation, Analysis Points to Counterbalancing China
Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam visited India, meeting with Prime Minister Modi to focus on defense cooperation and arms procurement, and announced joining the "Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative" to address South China Sea challenges. Analysts suggest India plays a crucial role in Vietnam's strategy to balance Chinese influence and dependence.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 11, 2026 at 20:11
- 🔍 Collected: May 11, 2026 at 20:32 (20 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 11, 2026 at 22:30 (1h 58m after Collected)
Central News Agency (Reporter Tseng Ting-Hsuan, Hanoi, 11th) - Less than a month after visiting Beijing, Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam flew to India to meet with Prime Minister Modi, focusing on defense and military procurement, and announced joining the "Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative" (IPOI) to address challenges in the South China Sea. Media analysis indicates that India plays an important role in Vietnam's efforts to balance Chinese influence and dependence, helping to counterbalance Beijing.
A few weeks after To Lam met with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping in Beijing, he visited India from the 4th to the 7th. During this visit, Vietnam and India elevated their bilateral relations to an "Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," the highest diplomatic level India offers to any country.
Several media analyses point out that this move shows Hanoi's avoidance of focusing solely on China, continuously striving to balance relations with major powers, while also expanding strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.
During his visit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the two countries plan to increase bilateral trade from US$16 billion to US$25 billion by 2030. The 13 cooperation agreements signed this time cover areas such as rare earths, energy security, digital payments, and supply chain resilience.
Defense cooperation was one of the most closely watched aspects of this trip. Reuters reported that India and Vietnam discussed the possibility of purchasing the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile system, including training and logistical support.
The BrahMos missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, has become a core component of India's defense export strategy. The Philippines had previously purchased the system, and Indonesia also signed a related agreement earlier this year.
At the same time, Vietnam and India agreed to establish a "2+2" ministerial dialogue mechanism for foreign and defense affairs, expand cooperation in the defense industry, and include Hanoi in the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) proposed by India, aimed at a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
S.D. Pradhan, India's former Deputy National Security Adviser, analyzed to Vietnam News Agency on the 9th that this visit demonstrated a high degree of consensus between the two countries on maritime issues and the Indo-Pacific vision, reflecting their shared commitment to peace, freedom of navigation, and a regional order based on international law.
Furthermore, both sides also agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as joint military exercises, staff talks, defense policy dialogues, maritime security, information sharing, and search and rescue operations.
Vietnam will also participate in "PRAGATI," the Indian Army's first multilateral joint exercise, later this month, which will involve delegations from more than a dozen countries, as part of India's "Act East" initiative.
On the 8th, Indian media Firstpost, in an article titled "The Importance of India Seeking Balance for Vietnam Facing China," analyzed how Vietnam strengthens defense cooperation with India to counterbalance Chinese influence.
Firstpost pointed out that China has always been Vietnam's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching US$256 billion in 2025, exceeding the total trade between Vietnam and the United States and India combined. However, "the trade relationship is real, and the threat is equally real," especially concerning the South China Sea and supply chain dependence on rare earths.
The Times of India (TOI) also analyzed that Vietnam can "counter China" through deepening cooperation with India. In response to China's growing influence in Southeast Asia, India and Vietnam discussed strengthening defense cooperation.
TOI noted that To Lam openly supported India playing a greater role in multilateral forums. Both sides pointed to China, jointly reaffirming the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the framework for resolving maritime and South China Sea disputes, and expressed the importance of upholding peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation and overflight.
Firstpost emphasized the importance of Vietnam-India relations in counterbalancing Chinese influence, writing: "There are no territorial disputes between India and Vietnam. It does not have 'Belt and Road' infrastructure that penetrates Vietnam's system... nor does it have end-use restrictions on defense sales that disappear with political shifts in Washington." The report believes that China offers "scaled certainty" and "influence," which will "narrow Vietnam's choices, making it harder for Vietnam to exert international pressure the next time Chinese warships appear in disputed waters." India's "Act East" initiative can offer Vietnam's "bamboo diplomacy" deeper trade, diversified defense, and enhanced self-defense capabilities, representing "friendly cooperation without coercion." (Editor: Tang Sheng-Yang) 1150511
Stand with facts, your sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA "First-Hand News" APP to stay updated instantly.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or used without authorization.
A few weeks after To Lam met with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping in Beijing, he visited India from the 4th to the 7th. During this visit, Vietnam and India elevated their bilateral relations to an "Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," the highest diplomatic level India offers to any country.
Several media analyses point out that this move shows Hanoi's avoidance of focusing solely on China, continuously striving to balance relations with major powers, while also expanding strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.
During his visit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the two countries plan to increase bilateral trade from US$16 billion to US$25 billion by 2030. The 13 cooperation agreements signed this time cover areas such as rare earths, energy security, digital payments, and supply chain resilience.
Defense cooperation was one of the most closely watched aspects of this trip. Reuters reported that India and Vietnam discussed the possibility of purchasing the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile system, including training and logistical support.
The BrahMos missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, has become a core component of India's defense export strategy. The Philippines had previously purchased the system, and Indonesia also signed a related agreement earlier this year.
At the same time, Vietnam and India agreed to establish a "2+2" ministerial dialogue mechanism for foreign and defense affairs, expand cooperation in the defense industry, and include Hanoi in the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) proposed by India, aimed at a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
S.D. Pradhan, India's former Deputy National Security Adviser, analyzed to Vietnam News Agency on the 9th that this visit demonstrated a high degree of consensus between the two countries on maritime issues and the Indo-Pacific vision, reflecting their shared commitment to peace, freedom of navigation, and a regional order based on international law.
Furthermore, both sides also agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as joint military exercises, staff talks, defense policy dialogues, maritime security, information sharing, and search and rescue operations.
Vietnam will also participate in "PRAGATI," the Indian Army's first multilateral joint exercise, later this month, which will involve delegations from more than a dozen countries, as part of India's "Act East" initiative.
On the 8th, Indian media Firstpost, in an article titled "The Importance of India Seeking Balance for Vietnam Facing China," analyzed how Vietnam strengthens defense cooperation with India to counterbalance Chinese influence.
Firstpost pointed out that China has always been Vietnam's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching US$256 billion in 2025, exceeding the total trade between Vietnam and the United States and India combined. However, "the trade relationship is real, and the threat is equally real," especially concerning the South China Sea and supply chain dependence on rare earths.
The Times of India (TOI) also analyzed that Vietnam can "counter China" through deepening cooperation with India. In response to China's growing influence in Southeast Asia, India and Vietnam discussed strengthening defense cooperation.
TOI noted that To Lam openly supported India playing a greater role in multilateral forums. Both sides pointed to China, jointly reaffirming the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the framework for resolving maritime and South China Sea disputes, and expressed the importance of upholding peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation and overflight.
Firstpost emphasized the importance of Vietnam-India relations in counterbalancing Chinese influence, writing: "There are no territorial disputes between India and Vietnam. It does not have 'Belt and Road' infrastructure that penetrates Vietnam's system... nor does it have end-use restrictions on defense sales that disappear with political shifts in Washington." The report believes that China offers "scaled certainty" and "influence," which will "narrow Vietnam's choices, making it harder for Vietnam to exert international pressure the next time Chinese warships appear in disputed waters." India's "Act East" initiative can offer Vietnam's "bamboo diplomacy" deeper trade, diversified defense, and enhanced self-defense capabilities, representing "friendly cooperation without coercion." (Editor: Tang Sheng-Yang) 1150511
Stand with facts, your sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA "First-Hand News" APP to stay updated instantly.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or used without authorization.