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 credit offered by Modi, the first Indian prime minister to visit Vietnam in 15 years, was among a dozen cooperation agreements he signed in Hanoi alongside Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Vietnam is in the midst of a major military build-up that analysts say is a deterrent as neighbouring China grows more assertive in staking its rival claims in the South China Sea.

– Reuters