The two sides have been focused on further boosting bilateral defence ties and reviewing the situation in the South China Sea, a region that has witnessed growing Chinese assertiveness.

Relations between the two countries were elevated to the level of 'strategic partnership' during the visit of Vietnam's then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to India in July 2007.

In 2016, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Vietnam, bilateral relations were further elevated to a "comprehensive strategic partnership"

With India stressing on its Act East policy, Vietnam has emerged as a key partner, and dfence engagements between the two nations include wide-ranging contacts between the services, military-to-military exchanges, capacity building, and training programmes.

During Rajnath Singh's visit to Vietnam in June 2022, a joint vision statement on the India-Vietnam defence partnership and a Memorandum of Understanding on mutual logistics support were inked.