India is set to get a strategic edge in and around South China Sea region, as its newest satellite-monitoring station in Vietnam is likely to be activated soon and linked up with another existing facility in Indonesia.



India has set up a state-of-the-art Data Reception and Tracking and Telemetry Station at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Isro is set to activate it soon and link it up with another station at Biak in Indonesia, officials told Deccan Herald in New Delhi.



The new facility in Ho Chi Minh City will primarily help the Isro to track satellites launched from India and receive data from them.



It will, however, also be an important strategic asset for India in and around South China Sea, which has been at the centre of an escalating conflict between China and its maritime neighbours —Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan.



India of late raised its pitch on South China Sea arguing in favour of freedom of navigation and over-flight, almost echoing strong positions taken by the US and Japan.



New Delhi is of the view that the South China Sea dispute must be solved through dialogue and in a peaceful manner in accordance with principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). Beijing is strongly opposed to any role of the US, Japan, India or any other country outside the region in the dispute and maintains that the row should be “peacefully resolved through dialogue and consultation between countries directly concerned”.



Apart from the facility in Indonesia, India also has a satellite-tracking station in Brunei.

New Delhi spent about $ 23 million to set up the new facility in Ho Chi Minh City. It is also set to deepen its cooperation in space technology and applications with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), ostensibly to get an edge in a region, where the US, Japan and Australia compete with China for geo-strategic influence. New Delhi is keen to share its expertise with the South-east Asian nations, especially for weather and disaster forecasting.



Altogether 120 space technology professionals from the 10 Asean countries have been invited to undergo training in the Isro facilities in India over the next few months.

India is also keen to set up a satellite-monitoring station in Fiji and turn it into a hub for sharing space technology with the Pacific Island nations.

