India has strengthened its defence diplomacy in Southeast Asia by signing a major BrahMos missile export agreement with Vietnam, while negotiations with Indonesia are nearing completion.

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• India has signed a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile export agreement with Vietnam, including missile systems, operator training, maintenance support, and logistics assistance, with an estimated value of around ₹6,000 crore.
• The agreement was confirmed during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, highlighting the growing strategic and defence cooperation between India and Vietnam in the Indo-Pacific region.
• BrahMos is a jointly developed supersonic cruise missile by India and Russia, capable of being launched from land, sea, submarines, and aircraft platforms for precision strikes.
• The missile travels at speeds exceeding Mach 2, making it one of the fastest operational cruise missiles in the world and highly effective against naval and land targets.
• Negotiations between India and Indonesia for the export of the naval version of the BrahMos missile are currently in the final stages and expected to conclude soon.
• The Philippines became the first foreign customer of the BrahMos missile system in 2022 through a deal valued at nearly 375 million US dollars for coastal defence capabilities.
• The BrahMos exports reflect India’s growing role as a defence manufacturing hub and support the government’s objective of expanding indigenous defence exports globally.
• The deal strengthens India’s strategic partnerships in Southeast Asia and reinforces security cooperation with ASEAN countries amid evolving regional geopolitical challenges.