India to supply Naval vessels to Vietnam

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service 

New Delhi, December 18

India will supply Naval vessels to Vietnam. These will be specialised aluminium hull fast patrol boats.

The Kolkatta-based Garden Reach Ship Engineering (GRSE) has submitted technical bids to Vietnam. Giving this information, Rear Admiral AK Verma (retd) Chairman and Managing Director of GRSE said in New Delhi on Thursday each of these ships will be 37 metres in length and 13 metres smaller than Indian warships of the same class. Vietnam wants 7-8 such ships.

India, as part of its ‘Act East’ policy, had recently extended a US $100-million credit line for defence equipment and these ships will be under the same credit line.

Vietnam along with five other nations is locked in a territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea. New Delhi wants freedom of navigation maintained in the sea as its trade to east hinges on this.