After submarine training, India likely to train Vietnamese pilots to fly Sukhois

NEW DELHI: After kicking-off submarine training for Vietnamese sailors last year, India is likely to coach Vietnam Air Force pilots in flying Sukhoi fighters as well, in keeping with the stepped-up defence cooperation between the two countries.
Both India and Vietnam are, of course, concerned about China's assertive behaviour in the Asia-Pacific region, and are steadily building cooperation in military training and "capacity-building" as well as in joint oil exploration in the contentious South China Sea.
Even as Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung began his two-day visit here on Monday, defence ministry sources said the Sukhoi training agreement being "actively" discussed by the two sides was likely "to be finalized in the near future".
The training would be on the pattern of the "underwater combat training" already underway for Vietnamese sailors at the Navy's submarine school INS Satavahana in Visakhapatnam since October 2013, as was then reported by TOI.
"54 Vietnamese sailors per batch are undergoing the 12-month programme. Vietnam is inducting Russian Kilo-class submarines and Sukhoi fighters, both of which we operate, to strengthen its military capabilities," said a source.
India is also transferring four naval offshore patrol vessels to the East Asian country under a $100 million credit line. India, in the past, has supplied spares for the Russian-origin Petya class warships and OSA-II class missile boats of the Vietnamese Navy, apart from continuing to train its military personnel in information technology and English language skills.
Indian warships also make regular port calls in Vietnam. Incidentally, after Indian warships were also "confronted" by the Chinese Navy in the South China Sea, New Delhi had send out a clear message that all must respect the "freedom of navigation in international waters" and the "right of passage" in accordance with accepted principles of international law.