Context

• A contingent of 45 personnel of the Indian Armed Forces has reached Hanoi (Vietnam) to participate in the fourth edition of the joint military exercise ‘VINBAX’ (VINBAX-2023).
• The Indian contingent consists of 39 personnel from the Engineer Regiment of the Bengal Engineer Group and six personnel from the Army Medical Corps.
• The Vietnam People's Army contingent will be represented by 45 military personnel.

Background

• The exercise, being held in Hanoi, Vietnam, started in 2018 and the first edition was held in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh).
• It is an annual training program held alternately in India and Vietnam.
• The previous edition of the exercise took place in August 2022 at Chandimandir Military Station, an Indian Army cantonment located in the foothills of the Shivalik Hills adjacent to Panchkula city in Haryana.

 Key Points

• The exercise will be conducted as a command post exercise cum field training exercise, with a focus on the deployment and employment of an engineer company and a medical team.
• The exercise will conclude with a validation exercise in which both teams will demonstrate the standards achieved.
• Both sides will conduct technical military operations according to scenarios such as the worldwide deployment of UN troops.

 Objective

• The objective of the exercise is to promote collaborative partnership and interoperability and share best practices between the two sides under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter on Peacekeeping Operations.

Benefit

• The joint exercise will promote exchange of ideas between the two armies and both teams will jointly practice tactics, techniques and procedures.

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR EXAM

Vietnam

• President: Vo Van Thuong
• Prime Minister: Pham Minh Chinh
• Capital: Hanoi
• Currency: Vietnamese Dong
• Largest rivers: Mekong in the south and Red in the north
• Geographical  Location:  Surrounded by China in the north, Laos in the north-west, Cambodia in the south-west and the South China Sea in the east and south.