New Delhi: Rajnath Singh – Defence Minister of India Thursday handed over 12 high-speed guard boats to Vietnam to help the country to improve its security and defense. The boats built under a USD 100 million Line of Credit granted to the Southeast Asian country by India were given by Singh at a ceremony in Hong Ha shipyard.
Rajnath Singhs said, “It gives me great pleasure to join this historic ceremony marking the successful completion of the project to build 12 high-speed guard boats under the USD 100 million Defence Line of Credit by India. Vietnam should become part of India’s transformation in the defense manufacturing sector,“
The first five boats were manufactured at the L&T Shipyard in India and the remaining seven were built in the Hong Ha shipyard.
Vietnam, an important country of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea region. The two countries – India and Vietnam – are boosting their maritime security cooperation in the last few years to protect common interests.
Rajnath Singh, However, approved the enhancement of funding under a DRDO scheme supporting indigenous development of defense equipment to Rs 50 crore per project from the existing Rs 10 crore. In the Union Budget for 2022-23, the government had set aside 25 percent of the defense R&D budget for private industry, start-ups, and academia.
(Vinayak)