Joint peacekeeping exercise enhances Viet Nam-India defense cooperation

This is the first time a large-scale exercise in coordination with India has been held in Viet Nam. High-ranking defense delegations of Viet Nam and India watched some exercise activities at the site.

Demonstration content includes building barracks, dispersing protest crowds, providing first aid to injured United Nations staff, and conducting air medical transport procedures.

This is to equip officers and employees of the two countries' Engineering Teams with skills to handle hypothetical situations in real-life situations, thus meeting professional requirements in responding to complex cases in stationed areas.

Colonel Aseem Gupta, Head of the Indian Army delegation participating in VINBAX 2023, mentioned that compared to the first exercise in 2018 held in India, the activity level increased with field training exercises and command exercises.

The key takeaway from this exercise is the close cooperation between the two United Nations Peacekeeping Forces of Viet Nam and India, specifically in coordinating between protection units and medical teams.

VINBAX was first held in India in 2018, and the second iteration took place in Viet Nam in 2019. Both were conducted as tabletop exercises.

VINBAX represents practical and effective cooperation between the Vietnamese People's Army and the Indian Army in recent years. VINBAX is the sole bilateral exercise of the Vietnamese People's Army with a foreign partner in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

The annual alternation of hosting VINBAX exercises by Viet Nam and India reflects the level of political trust and the substantial effectiveness of the bilateral defense cooperation relationship.

This also underscores the commitment of both nations' armed forces in contributing to the United Nations peacekeeping mission for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and the world./.