Indian armed forces contingent in Vietnam for joint military exercise

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) An Indian Armed Forces contingent comprising 45 personnel reached Hanoi, Vietnam to take part in a joint military exercise.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the aim of the exercise is to foster collaborative partnership, promote interoperability and share best practices between the two sides under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter on Peacekeeping Operations.

The exercise will be conducted as a Command Post Exercise cum Field Training Exercise with focus on deployment and employment of an Engineer Company and a Medical Team.

The is the fourth edition of Joint Military Exercise VINBAX-2023 which will be conducted at Hanoi from December 11 to 21. The Indian contingent comprises 39 personnel from an Engineer Regiment of Bengal Engineer Group and six personnel of Army Medical Corps. The Vietnam People’s Army contingent will also be represented by 45 personnel, an official said.

The MoD said that the joint exercise will encourage exchange of ideas and both contingents will jointly rehearse tactics, technique and procedures. Ideas will be exchanged on modern methods to construct roads, culverts, helipads, ammunition shelter and observation posts in operational areas. In addition, rehearsals will be carried out for drills related to combat engineering and combat medical tasks.

The Exercise will culminate with a Validation Exercise, wherein standards attained by both contingents will be showcased. Both sides will conduct technical military operations in accordance with scenarios akin to worldwide deployment of United Nations’ contingents, officials added.

The joint exercise will help in promoting understanding and interoperability between the two contingents and further strengthen the defence cooperation between the friendly armies, MoD officials said.

The MoD said that 'Exercise VINBAX' was instituted in 2018 and the first edition was conducted in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur. It is an annual training event conducted alternatively in India and Vietnam. Last edition was conducted at Chandimandir Military Station in August 2022.