It is instructive that India entered the fraught region of the South China Sea via Vietnam. Hanoi has been publicly sparring with Beijing over the South China Sea for the past few years, so such a response was expected. The Modi government’s decision to sell BrahMos missiles to Vietnam underscores the evolution in India’s policy towards the Indo-Pacific. That’s why in some quarters of New Delhi, Vietnam is already seen as a counterweight in the same way Pakistan has been for China. India’s latest move comes at a time when the US has also lifted its longstanding ban on sales of lethal military equipment to Vietnam.

Source: Mint June 14, 2016 23:03 UTC