Eye on 'expansionist' China? India trains Vietnamese soldiers in Mizoram

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Vairengte, Mizoram: The Indian Army is training soldiers of the Vietnamese Army in the forests of Mizoram at Counter Insurgence and Jungle Warfare School. 

As per a report in NDTV, three Vietnamese Army officers who are being trained will be transferred to regular infantry soldiers of the Vietnam Army.

Captain Sun of the Vietnamese Army was quoted as saying by the media house - "I like India. India is very good. India is a beautiful country. And India is friendly. They help me in many things. The training is very good. I think that after this training, I know many, many things about counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations. It is very useful for operations in my country."

Moreover, India has offered Vietnam BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which was successfully test-fired on March 11 this year from a test range along the Odisha coast and is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kg.

At the same time, India has also reportedly offered Vietnam the indigenous Akash surface to air missile system now in service with the Indian Air Force.

Moreover, as per NDTV, Vietnamese sailors are also being trained to operate Russian Kilo class diesel electric submarines at INS Satvahana - Navy's submarine training school in Visakhapatnam.

The report said that though training of officers of a friendly partner-nation is not uncommon, the context of the training was critical as India is concerned about an 'expansionist' China, which is stepping up its military cooperation with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. 

It was reported in August last year that Pakistan was to acquire at least eight modified diesel-electric attack submarines from China by 2028 in a nearly USD 5 billion agreement, said to be the biggest arms export deal for the Communist giant.

The first four submarines are expected to be delivered by the end of 2023 while the remaining four will be assembled in Karachi by 2028, as per PTI.

These are expected to form the sea-based arm of Pakistan's burgeoning nuclear second-strike triad.

China is Pakistan's biggest supplier of military hardware which included battle tanks, naval ships as well as fighter jets. The two jointly manufacture J-17 Thunder warplane.

Earlier, India has also expressed concern over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project being built in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and has maintained that it violates the country's sovereignty.

Beijing has invested more than $60 billion in CPEC aimed at connecting the western China with the Pakistani port of Gwadar near Karachi.

This ambitious multi-billion dollar joint venture is a combination of road and rail links that connect with Gwadar.

The venture has evoked a lot of reactions in India with some security analysts accusing China of encircling India to flex its geopolitical muscle in the region.

The project also passes through the restive Baluchistan province in Pakistan.

The Baloch people have been fighting for a sovereign homeland and have been accusing Islamabad of occupying their territory.

(With PTI inputs)