Indian news outlets are reporting that Vietnam is close to finalizing a deal to purchase an anti-ship missile system from India. This follows the Philippines' recent acquisition of a similar system for use in the South China Sea, where it has competing claims with China. TaiwanPlus spoke to Don McLain Gill, a lecturer at De La Salle University in Manila, to explore whether Vietnam has similar intentions.
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00:00What do you make of these reports about Vietnam buying BrahMos missile systems from India?
00:05Why would Vietnam want these anti-ship missiles?
00:08China, for instance, pushing the envelope in its claim over the Gulf of Tonkin.
00:14In the past few weeks, we saw Chinese maritime forces beat Vietnamese fisher folk with iron
00:20clubs, for instance, and of course, the imprisonment or the detainment of Vietnamese fishermen,
00:26right?
00:27So these are a number of important aspects that also determined in the strategic calculations
00:33of Vietnam towards acquiring the BrahMos missile as an important deterrent.
00:38But we have to underscore that Vietnam is unlikely to engage in block politics against
00:44China driven by its strategic culture, its emphasis on strategic autonomy.
00:51The Philippines has already acquired a similar missile system to use in the South China Sea
00:56where it has competing claims with China.
01:00Is that why Vietnam wants to buy these missiles?
01:03It's quite interesting that Vietnam has been in the works of its negotiations with India
01:09for the BrahMos missiles and other types of weapon systems as well.
01:13For instance, in 2017, there was the Akash missiles, right?
01:17So this also gained some controversy vis-a-vis China.
01:21But today, given the highly competitive nature of Indo-Pacific geopolitics, the highly polarized
01:29dimension of Southeast Asian security, this was a natural step for Vietnam, right?
01:36And of course, as we see, Vietnam and the Philippines are also improving their confidence
01:40building mechanisms through bilateral patrols for non-traditional security issues with their
01:46coast guards.
01:47Then, you know, this is definitely in line with the whole aspect of deterrence, right?
01:53So this is, in fact, also another thing that we could anticipate, given, of course, that
01:59there's a trend within Southeast Asia to bolster their defense capabilities amidst the US-China
02:05power competition on one hand and China's expansionism on the other.
02:10And how do you think China will react to Vietnam acquiring these missiles?
02:15China has also been a major supplier of arms and defense equipment to India's immediate
02:21neighbors.
02:22And of course, the first offshore base of China is in Djibouti, in the Western Indian
02:26Ocean.
02:27So in this regard, I don't really think that China should be apprehensive about this, given
02:33that it has been trying to do so in a different connotation.
02:37When we look at India's engagements in Southeast Asia, it is not merely to address the China
02:42factor, but it is to improve the capacity building of like-minded and friendly nations.