BrahMos deal with Vietnam signed; Indonesia pact in final stages: India

Singapore: Defence Secreta­ry Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Saturday Vietnam has signed a deal with India for the BrahMos missile system, while a similar agreement with Indonesia is in its final stages. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Singh said he understood the Vietnam deal had been signed but had not yet been publicly announced. He added negotiations with Indonesia were nearing completion.

The Philippines became the first foreign buyer of the BrahMos missile system after signing a contract worth nearly $375 million in 2022. Indonesia announced in March that it had reached a deal with India to procure the missile system. While media reports earlier this month suggested Vietnam was close to finalising an agreement, Singh’s remarks are the first official confirmation in the public domain. The value of the Vietnam and Indonesia deals has not been disclosed.

On sharing advanced defence technologies, Singh said sophisticated weapons systems were generally supplied to trusted partners. India, he said, remained committed to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and viewed its member states as friendly nations with whom it could share advanced defence technologies. He stressed on the need for resilient and diversified defe­n­ce supply cha­i­ns, saying Ind­ia was expanding defence production, encouraging private-sector participation and em­erging as a dependable de­f­ence manufacturing hub.