India-Vietnam Relations and the Indo-Pacific Flux
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Summary
Vietnam's President Tô Lâm's recent visit to India upgraded ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both nations are deepening defence, maritime and economic cooperation, poised to play a key role amid South China Sea tensions and Indo-Pacific realignment.
Vietnam's President Tô Lâm's visit to India during the first week of May 2026 was an important development in the regular evolution of India-Vietnam relations and part of the broader reconfiguration of Indo-Pacific geopolitics. The development of bilateral relations from the status of a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' towards an 'Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership', along with signed agreements in the fields of defence, maritime security, technology, energy, finance and critical minerals, can be seen as a structural change in the strategic alignment and operational planning of the two sides.
This evolution in bilateral relations comes as the Indo-Pacific situation is rapidly changing. Vietnam is under constant pressure through the South China Sea by China. India is gradually transforming the 'Act East' strategy into an Indo-Pacific strategy. There are no signs that the situation will change sooner because issues related to maritime coercion, supply chain vulnerability and preservation of strategic autonomy have converged to create a durable platform for increased engagement. The Look East policy has over the years evolved into the 'Act East' approach and is now in the form of a broader Indo-Pacific policy based on institutionalised cooperation.
Vietnam is no longer a minor actor in ASEAN but one of the significant states within the geopolitics of ASEAN. This is a deliberate multi-aligning strategy in an uncertain context, where Vietnam has been interacting with America and India in addition to its dealings with China and Japan. This pattern of diplomacy is perfectly captured in early 2026. The trip of Tô Lâm to Beijing further emphasised how interconnected the East and the West have become in economics, before South Korea's big delegation of industrialists, and then a Japanese report on FOIP in Hanoi, and then the trip of Tô Lâm to New Delhi to enhance the ECSP.
Defence Deepening and Economic Rewiring
The foundation of India-Vietnam defence cooperation is an ever-growing partnership transitioning from symbolic cooperation to capability-based interaction. This early consolidation of trust was accomplished in 2023 through the transfer of INS Kirpan, training programmes, maritime exercises and credit-line support.
It is now in a more advanced stage as part of the relationship. On May 18, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh began his trip to Vietnam; there are hopes for further agreement over Vietnam's purchase of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. If achieved, it would mark a shift in the South China Sea from capacity building to deterrence enhancement. The offer of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services to Vietnam's Sukhoi-30 aircraft and Kilo-class submarines by India puts the Indian Navy and Air Force on a trajectory of long-term operational interdependence. This cooperation is continued through the establishment of structured frameworks, such as the new 2+2 Strategic Dialogue.
Economic relations are also going through a structural change. The amount of bilateral trade, which is now over USD 16 billion, is set to increase to USD 25 billion by 2030. But the actual change is not in scale. Economic relations are increasingly seen through the lens of strategic economic security rather than the traditional concept of trade.
Given its status as a key hub for manufacturing in ASEAN, Vietnam is playing an increasingly crucial role in diversifying India's reliance on China. In exchange, India will be able to provide technological capacity, digital infrastructure and increasing market access. This dynamic relationship is characterised by a functional interdependence in which the economic, technological and security aspects are all combined.
The Indo-Pacific Dynamics and ASEAN Centrality
The strategic context of India-Vietnam relations is particularly important in the context of the developing strategic architecture in the Indo-Pacific region. They, together with Japan and Australia, support a seamless minilateral system for a rules-based maritime order with the United States. Although informal, these arrangements help to uphold the concept of freedom of navigation, UNCLOS compliance and resistance against unilateral coercion in the South China Sea.
Vietnam has been playing a pivotal role in India's Indo-Pacific vision because of its central position in ASEAN. It serves as a link between ASEAN's Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India's Act East policy, ensuring compatibility between regional and sub-regional frameworks. This enables India to enhance engagement without the need for bloc formation, while also giving Vietnam flexibility among competing power centres.
Conclusion
As the Indo-Pacific neighbourhood becomes a theatre of great power competition and systemic uncertainty, the partnership between India and Vietnam offers a new model of middle power diplomacy — one focused on creating connections, building networks, functional cooperation, and adapting to uncertainty.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Statecraft Institute.