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| Indian vice-president: Hamid Ansari (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Prashanth Parameswaran
Counterterrorism and maritime security key areas of focus during Hamid Ansari’s trip.
India and Thailand discussed opportunities to broaden their defense and security cooperation during a historic visit by India’s vice president to the Southeast Asian state last week.
As I wrote for The Diplomat last month, Indian vice-president Hamid Ansari was set to visit Thailand from February 3 to February 5. Ansari’s visit to the kingdom was the first by an Indian vice-president in 50 years (See: “India’s Vice-President to Visit Thailand, Brunei in February”).
The focus of much of the visit was on security and defense ties, including counterterrorism and maritime security cooperation. That is no surprise since the two countries have been looking to bolster their defense relationship in several areas over the past few years.
“There is tremendous potential for enhancing our bilateral defense ties,” Ansari said in a February 4 speech on India, Thailand and ASEAN at the prominent Chulalongkorn University.
India and Thailand already have a series of bilateral defense interactions in place, including regular joint exercises, officer training and exchanges at various levels as outlined in a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation back in January 2012.
Read the full story at The Diplomat