India and Vietnam are moving to deepen their defence partnership, with both countries placing greater emphasis on defence technology sharing, industrial collaboration and maritime security. The latest discussions took place on September 13, 2026, when Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh met Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of National Defence, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang, in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
The meeting followed a high-level interaction between the Prime Ministers of India and Vietnam during the BRICS Summit and focused on taking forward the countries’ Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. According to the Ministry of Defence, the two sides discussed accelerating joint initiatives, technology sharing and defence industrial cooperation.
Maritime cooperation was another important area of discussion. India and Vietnam reaffirmed their commitment to expanding maritime and defence ties with the objective of supporting a peaceful, stable and rules-based regional security environment. Both countries also stressed the importance of closer coordination through ASEAN-led mechanisms, particularly the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus).
The latest engagement builds on a broader expansion of India-Vietnam defence relations. The two countries have been developing cooperation in areas including defence policy dialogue, military training, capacity building, maritime security, defence industrial cooperation and technology-related initiatives. Their Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was further strengthened in May 2026, when the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in areas including defence technology, co-production, maritime security and search-and-rescue activities.
The two countries have also identified opportunities for greater defence-industrial cooperation, including the co-production of Indian defence equipment. Recent reporting has highlighted this as part of the broader effort to expand practical defence cooperation and strengthen industrial links between the two countries.
India and Vietnam are also maintaining regular institutional mechanisms for defence engagement. The next Defence Policy Dialogue is scheduled to be hosted by India on the sidelines of Aero India 2027, providing another platform to review bilateral defence cooperation and discuss future areas of collaboration.
The latest developments indicate that defence cooperation is becoming an increasingly important component of India-Vietnam relations, alongside wider engagement in trade, connectivity, space, nuclear energy and other strategic sectors. For India, Vietnam remains an important partner in its engagement with Southeast Asia and ASEAN, while both countries continue to emphasise cooperation for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific.