Agenda for India- Vietnam Virtual Summit Meeting

India Vietnam have reached a higher level of understanding and trust in the wake of developments in South China Sea and tensions at India-China border. China has been showing its aggressive moves in the maritime and land borders with Vietnam and India respectively. In the last meeting which was held between India and ASEAN countries it was proposed that the two sides should work on fulfilling the objectives of better cooperation in areas such as energy, smart cities, resilient supply chain, digital and physical connectivity, and developing symbiotic relationship between businesses.

During the 17th Joint Commission meeting of the two countries which was held in August 2020 new areas of corporations were explored which included working on trade in specific areas, collaboration in science and technology as well as working in projects in blue economy, strategic technologies, civil nuclear energy cooperation and also explore possibilities in space. India's space and cyber sector are now growing and Vietnam is increasingly seen by many countries as a potential hub for software development and developing skills in computer sciences.

The recent declaration which has been made by the US State Department during US-ASEAN meetings allude to the fact that in terms of developing collaboration between technical universities and institutes, Vietnam need to build capabilities and requires financial support. The training of technicians, engineers and software developers could be one area where the US, India and Vietnam could collaborate.

One of the elements which have been highlighted during the interactions between the two sides has been primarily in the areas of encryption and developing IT and telecommunication infrastructure. India is also looking towards CLMV countries so as to promote its exports and integrate this region through various initiatives such as Mekong India Economic Corridor (MIEC), extending BBIN transport initiative and developing regional supply chains in sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, steel and electronics.

In one of the speeches which have been recently made by Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar he has stated that CLMV countries need Quick Impact Projects (QIP) which can show results on ground. In this regard he pointed to areas such as water resource management, meeting sustainable development goals of the UN, developing financial and digital connectivity, and also working on joint projects with relatively limited capital. With regard to Vietnam, India has already highlighted twelve QIP related to water resource management and developing educational infrastructure in the country.

India recognises Vietnam as the critical country and the launching board for its further political and economic outreach in East Asia and Southeast Asia. India has regularly stated that it supports freedom of navigation and rightful exploration of resources in the Exclusive Economic Zones of the countries in South China Sea. India is also keen on conducting regular exercises with the peripheral countries of South China Sea so as to develop interoperability and also address issues related to Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR). India has already been collaborating with a number of countries in hydrographic survey and sharing of data related to marine biosphere. Blue economy is one of the critical areas where India sees convergence of interest between the two countries.

During the online meeting and interaction between the defence ministers of the two sides (Nov 27) it was acknowledged that there is a lot of potential with regard to developing capabilities in defence industry as well as training and sharing of best practices in maintenance and upkeep of the latest equipment. While there have been regular defence dialogues which have been happening between India and Vietnam but structural technical cooperation between the defence research institutes for collaborative research for future is required.

Vietnam wants to develop its defence industry as well as develop new focus areas such as fast attack crafts, coastal radars and purchase surveillance aircrafts so as to strengthen its islands in South China Sea. One of the areas which have been largely unexplored between India and Vietnam has been in simulation, table top exercises and utilising virtual reality for creating battle situations in the video mode.

While connectivity is one of the critical areas between the two countries and as the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has said once that India and Vietnam should connect through road networks. Prime Minister Modi is working on the same lines and it would not be wrong to say that Delhi and Hanoi might be connected through interconnected road networks in future.

India and Vietnam are going to be on the high table of the UN Security Council in 2021 as the non-permanent members from Asia. In this context it is important that the two countries should collaborate on developing and discussing issues related to the rights of the lower riparian countries and also equitable use of river water resources so that environmental balance is maintained. In the context of South China Sea and the developments around it the two countries can collaborate on raising the issues of protecting the rights of the smaller neighbours and island nations in the Global Commons. The utility of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) needs to be buttressed under the UNCLOS (1982) and it will be important that the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea is formalised in due course of time.

The South China Sea issue has garnered international attention and requires active intervention by major countries so that the status quo is maintained and peace and tranquillity is preserved. Under the India ASEAN Action Plan 2021-2025 it has been stated that there is a need for developing maritime security architecture. In the past, in the year 2018, there has been discussion between India and the ASEAN members on this issue and it is critical that the capacities and capabilities of the southeast Asian countries should be developed.

India has been seen as one of the countries which will be producing mass vaccines to protect against COVID-19, and would help in reducing the cost through economies of scale. This would mean that the cost of medicine for the global south will be low and therefore it can be provided to the poor and needy population across continents such as South America, Africa and Asia.

Many countries in the world particularly Germany, France, US and China had been working on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and exploring possible uses in civilian and defence domain. The two countries can also start pilot projects in this regard and collaboration between technical institutions would be a welcome move. India has signed a number of logistics sharing agreement with countries such as France, Japan, Australia and the US. It would be prudent for both countries to enter into encrypted military communication networks, and also sign an agreement related to logistics support. India space sector is opening up for private players and Vietnam could harness the resources that India has to offer in this sector. Vietnam can use India's launch facilities for launching weather satellites as well as other satellites which can be instrumental for defence purposes.

While much has been stated with regard to India not joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) but the two countries can work on the review of the India ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and reducing the items in the negative list.

With regard to utilising these lines of credit in the defence sector, Vietnam need to work out on a ten-year defence planning, and utilise these funds for modernising its military. In this context the private defence industry in India can help in under taking joint projects as Larsen and Toubro has recently done by delivering fast attack crafts for Vietnam. Indian shipyards also can build and transfer corvettes for the Vietnamese Navy.

In one of the books written by Dr. Pankaj K Jha and Dr Vo Xuan Vinh titled ‘India, Vietnam and the Indo-Pacific’ published by Routledge, London in 2020, argues that the two countries can act as anchors to develop Indo-Pacific in other spheres such as political cooperation, developing economic community and promoting interactions at different spheres such as research, education, technology and knowledge generation. The book also points to the fact that the two countries which are the fastest growing economies in 2019 need to connect through geographical spaces so as to develop synergies and work for mutual interest. This book covers a wide range of issues between the two countries and suggest a futuristic and interactive way to further realise the potential of collaboration in this region.

(The views expressed are personal.)