India expands footprint in South China Sea, ‘gifts’ warship to Vietnam

In an attempt to checkmate an ever-aggressive China and to ensure a rather freer Indo-Pacific and South China Sea, India has “gifted” Vietnam with a missile-equipped indigenously-built warship.

Corvette INS Kirpan— corvettes are the smallest class of warships—was pledged to Vietnam after India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had bilateral talks with his Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Gang.

India will also enhance training of Vietnamese personnel in submarine and fighter jet operations, cyber-security and electronic warfare, among other fields.

Vietnam has, of late, been one of the countries to have been harassed by Chinese vessels. Vietnam and China have been locked in a longstanding tiff over the extent of Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Recently, a Chinese research ship and five escort vessels defied Vietnam’s orders to leave its EEZ. This incident happened quite close to gas blocks operated by Russian firms.

Both the leaders also reviewed progress on various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives and expressed satisfaction with the ongoing engagements.

“Both Ministers identified means to enhance existing areas of collaboration, especially in the field of defence industry cooperation, maritime security and multinational cooperation,” an official release by the Ministry of Defence said after the meeting.

Vietnamese defence minister also visited DRDO headquarters and discussed ways to enhance defence industrial capabilities by cooperation in defence research and joint production.

India and Vietnam had inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June 2022 on mutual logistics support. The defence ministers of both the countries signed the “Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam defence partnership towards 2030”, which the Ministry had said would significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation.

INS Kirpan’s formidable arsenal includes four surface to surface missiles, a medium range gun, anti aircraft shoulder launched missiles and close in weapon system. The aviation element includes an operational capability for carrying a Chetak helicopter.

According to the Indian Navy, INS Kirpan, a Khukri class missile corvette, was commissioned into the Navy on January 12, 1991.

The ship has displacement of 1,460 tonnes, a length of 91 metres, a beam of 11 metres, and is capable of speed in excess of 25 knots. The ship is manned by a crew of 10 officers and 116 sailors.

The ship is entirely indigenous in concept, design and construction. INS Kirpan is named after the traditional weapon used by Sikh warriors. The ship’s crest depicts a Kirpan superimposed over a typical shield of the Sikhs on a Red background. The ship lives up to her motto – “Bravest of the Brave”.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.