Indian Warship Visiting Vietnam on 'Goodwill Trip'

[Vikrant]

Vietnam definitely can use a friend in the bar-fight called South China dispute.

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NEW DELHI—An Indian warship is to take part in exercises with the Vietnamese navy this week in the tense waters of the South China Sea, where maritime disputes between China and its neighbors have intensified.

The guided-missile stealth frigate INS Shivalik also made a port visit at Haiphong in northern Vietnam as part of a three-day "goodwill trip" to the Southeast Asian country, the Indian navy said Tuesday.

Indian navy spokesman D.K. Sharma said the visit, as well as maneuvers in the Pacific Ocean last month by India, the U.S. and Japan, is a "fine demonstration of the operational reach" of India's armed forces.

Worried about an increasingly assertive and stronger China, New Delhi has sought greater cooperation with Beijing's rivals and has been bolstering its navy, which recently took delivery of its second aircraft carrier.

But India, wary of provoking instability in the region and along its own disputed border with China, has generally moved cautiously and tried to avoid any appearance of working with the U.S. or others to contain China's rise.

In May, India expressed concern over a dispute between China and Vietnam over China's deployment of an oil rig in a disputed area, prompting a curt response from Beijing that Indians "may not worry too much about the current situation in the South China Sea," according to the Press Trust of India.

Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, an expert in maritime affairs at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the Indian navy's Vietnam visit is part of an effort to deepen India's engagement in East Asia.

"In terms of China's assertive actions, there's certainly a feeling in India that it should build on some of its traditional relationships in the region," Mr. Roy-Chaudhury said.

Some Indian experts and officials have argued India should build close ties with Vietnam like those China has with India's neighbor and rival, Pakistan. But successive Indian governments have taken a more measured approach.

India and China, which fought a brief 1962 war over their Himalayan border, have in recent years grown increasingly suspicious of the others' activities in waters they consider their own strategic backyards.

China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean and infrastructure investments in nations surrounding India has spooked some in New Delhi's security establishment.

India has sparred with China over activities in the South China Sea, including gas and oil exploration off the coast of Vietnam. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, clashing with other nations such as Vietnam and the Philippines that have competing claims over the mineral-rich region.

China in 2011 warned India's state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp. 500312.BY -1.22% against carrying out exploration activities there. But the Indian company has continued to operate in the region.

That year, Indian officials said, an Indian naval vessel sailing toward a port in Vietnam was contacted on an open radio channel by a caller who identified himself as a Chinese official and said the Indian ship was in Chinese waters.

Indian Warship Visiting Vietnam on 'Goodwill Trip' - WSJ

 

[Mad Scientist]

I hope they don't get "Accidentally Not Fired On" like our boys did!

 

[Vikrant]

I hope they don't get "Accidentally Not Fired On" like our boys did!

PLA navy has already pulled few stunts against Indian naval ships in South China sea. China is a textbook example of bully.

 

[Vikrant]

Vietnam wants India to help reduce dependence on China as Vietnamese PM is due to visit India.

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NEW DELHI: As Vietnam hopes to reduce its dependence on the Chinese economy, its Prime Minister will land on the Indian soil later this month, marking an unprecedented level of intensity of interaction between the two countries - three high-level visits in three consecutive months.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will arrive at Bodh Gaya on October 28 and then a day later travel to Delhi for formal, substantive meetings.

It takes place just a month after President Pranab Mukherjee was on a four-day visit to the country on September 14. And in August, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had marked the Modi Government’s first engagement with Hanoi.

While defence ties had been a dominant theme earlier for both the countries, this time the mood is distinctly economic.

According to sources, Vietnamese PM’s visit will focus on building more bridges with India, so as to sources materials and reduce its dependence on China. The sector specifically that Hanoi is looking at India is textiles.

With tensions escalating over south china sea dispute, Vietnam had seen riots on its streets which targeted Chinese business, and forced it to pay compensation for their loss later. It is a very lopsided balance of trade, with Vietnam importing most of its raw materials from China, especially for its emerging garment sector. Apparently 50 percent of the raw yarn and fabrics are imported from Chinese firms.

With textiles now seen as an important export industry for Hanoi, it wants to reduce this Chinese leverage which could impact its economy.

“They are looking to import more polyester fabrics and yarns from India. Even though the timelines given by Chinese firms are shorter, they are looking at India to diversify for obvious reasons,” said sources.

Incidentally, Vietnam’s trade with China was around $50 bn in 2013, while with India it was about $8 bn. At the same time, growth in trade volume with India has been sharp - 30 per cent over last year. The visit also comes after India for the first time in a bilateral document with US talked about the South China sea dispute and the rule of law for a peaceful region, which led to a sharp retort from Beijing that no third-parties had any role.

Vietnam Wants India to Help Reduce Dependence on China -The New Indian Express

 

[Vikrant]

India backs Vietnam, others against China

India on Thursday supported the stand taken by some South-East Asian nations that have called for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where China is locked in maritime disputes with many of its neighbours.

In his remarks at the fifth East Asia Summit foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur, junior foreign minister V.K. Singh warned that “in a world of inter-dependence and globalization, there is no option but to follow international laws and norms”.

India supported the “freedom of navigation in international waters, including the South China Sea, the right of passage and overflight, unimpeded commerce and access to resources in accordance with principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“Territorial disputes must be settled through peaceful means, as was done by India and Bangladesh recently using the mechanisms provided under UNCLOS,” Singh said.

“India hopes that all parties to the disputes in the South China Sea will abide by the guidelines on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. We further support efforts for the early adoption of a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea on the basis of consensus,” he added.

Singh’s comments follow China sparking alarm among its smaller neighbours in South-East Asia by expanding reefs, constructing military posts, and blocking vessels straying into what it claims are its territorial waters. China claims almost all of the South China Sea; Vietnam and the Philippines are contesting those claims.

According to an AFP report, South-East Asian nations were squabbling over a joint statement to be issued on tensions in the South China Sea, with China’s allies opposing strong criticism of its land-reclamation activities.

The Philippines and Vietnam in particular were pushing for stronger language on Chinese land reclamation, which could help shore up Beijing’s disputed territorial claims, but China was backed by nations such as Laos and Cambodia, part of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

India’s position is not new but assumes importance given that some Asean members, such as the Philippines, have been calling on it to make its presence felt within the region against the backdrop of an assertive China.

In India last month for talks with officials, Philippines foreign secretary Evan Garcia urged India to play a more prominent role in Asia as he warned of attempts being made by powers in the region to keep India out of discussions relating to the security architecture in South-East Asia and the Asia-Pacific.

Though he did not name any nation, Garcia’s reference seemed to be to China, with which the Philippines has had some tensions in recent months. In recent years, China has been wary of India’s inroads into the region it considers its backyard. China has expressed its annoyance at India prospecting for energy in waters off Vietnam’s coast. In 2011, an Indian naval ship was reportedly confronted by a Chinese naval vessel in the same area. India denied the incident.

Of late, India has scaled up its engagement with Asean and its members.

On Thursday, Singh described the Asia-Pacific region and its oceans as “a critical enabler of our prosperity and of our growing interdependence” while pointing to other threats to freedom of navigation.

“Maritime security remains under threat from non-state actors such as terrorists, pirates and people smugglers. Incidents of piracy have gone up in recent months and we can see that developments in coastal and island states can have an impact on security on the seas. In addition, sovereignty disputes have the potential for undermining maritime security and mutual confidence,” he said.

South China Sea India backs Vietnam others against China - Livemint