Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday his country would provide a credit line of half a billion dollars to Vietnam for defence cooperation, the latest sign of closer ties between two countries with separate territorial disputes with China.

The announcement was made during a joint press conference in Hanoi on Saturday between Modi and his Vietnamese counterpart Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. "We recognize the need to cooperate on responding to emerging regional challenges. As two important countries in this region, we also feel it necessary to further our ties on regional and international issues of common concern," said Modi, who is the first Indian prime minister to visit Vietnam in 15 years. 

Vietnam is in the midst of a major military buildup that analysts say is meant to act as a deterrent for neighboring China, which grows more assertive in staking its rival claims in the South China Sea.

Source : QNA