BrahMos Aerospace the Indo-Russian joint venture that has
developed the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is keen to sell the
missile to Vietnam with which India is developing a strong strategic
relationship, sources have confirmed.
However, the Indian government’s approval will have to be taken for
any such acquisition. Sources also confirmed that Vietnam is already on a
list of about 15 “friendly countries” that was decided by a joint
Indo-Russian supervisory council to whom the BrahMos missile can be
sold.
“Informal talks are on but no concrete proposal has been made as
yet,” a source who did not want to be identified, told this newspaper.
“Any acquisition of the BrahMos missile will be of immense value to
Vietnam and will boost its defence preparedness,” sources said.
So far, the BrahMos missile has not been sold to any third country
although a few have already evinced interest in acquiring it.
In a move that signalled the importance of strategic ties between
India and Vietnam in the wake of increased Chinese military assertion in
Asia, defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma had also recently begun an
official visit to Vietnam. India is set to offer naval facilities for
training and capacitybuilding to Vietnam.
Comments
Post a Comment