India To Be An Arms Exporter – To Sell BrahMos To Vietnam

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With the BrahMos missiles proving a success in the Indian Tri-Services, India plans to provide Vietnam with the cruise missiles.

Yes! India is being an arms EXPORTER!

This is being looked as a bid to take on China’s increasing hegemony in South Asia.

Know more about the BrahMos missile here.

Here is how the story of the deal goes:

Since 2008 India has supplied Vietnam with some 5,000 spare parts for its Soviet Petya-class frigates and provided assistance in overhauling the Southeast Asian nation’s MiG-21 fighters and T-55 tanks.
China and Vietnam are locked in a tense face-off over maritime boundaries in the South China Sea. The matter is pending in the United Nations for a final decision.
India has stated a target of achieving a $100 billion trade with the ASEAN – all located east of India – by 2015 and needs free shipping rights.
Vietnam had been eyeing the missile for over five years now but the UPA government had been reluctant to give the nod fearing Chinese objections.
In October 2014 India pledged to supply Vietnam with four locally built offshore patrol vessels under a USD 100 million credit line.
While the current BrahMos launch vehicles are surface and aircraft based, India is testing a submarine-launched version that could conceivably be used in Vietnam’s Kilo-class submarines
Highly placed defence sources said both PM Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar were in favour of exporting the missile system to Vietnam.
Additionally, there were concerns from China – a maritime rival with both India and Vietnam – that Indian arms sales would upset the balance of power in the South China Sea.
However if the Vietnam deal goes through, it will be a major win for the Indian arms industry as in the past few years India has been making a push as a major arms exporter.
For Vietnam, it would also be a major boost to their ability to take on modern surface combatants as Hanoi looks to expand its maritime capabilities against an ever-expanding Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
There is also a prospect of India launching Vietnam’s satellites into space and this is among the long list of items identified as ‘expansion of bilateral relations’.
A 15-20 member Indian defence delegation led by DM Manohar Parrikar to Vietnam will further boost the joint development and production of a range of military equipment such as small arms, missile, and naval systems as well as assorted ammunition.