India offers $300 million loan to build up Vietnam's maritime security, saying it is a key partner

NEW DELHI (AP) — India on Thursday offered a $300 million loan to build up Vietnam’s maritime security, as the two sides said they want to double their trade and investment within five years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh that India considers Vietnam a key pillar of its policy toward Southeast Asian nations and an important partner in its Indo-Pacific vision.

After their talks, Chinh told reporters the world faces fierce security challenges but there are opportunities for cooperation.

"The Asia Indo-Pacific region is a locomotive for growth, but it is also where major politics is taking place fiercely," he said. "We need an approach and methodology that is global and upholding multilateralism."

The prime ministers said both sides wanted to further their cooperation in defense and other areas such as semiconductor and green technology, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and climate action.

Modi and Chinh virtually inaugurated the “Army Software Park” in Vietnam, an educational facility set up with India's help to train Vietnamese soldiers in digital skills.

Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2022 grew 27% and reached $14.14 billion. Indian exports to Vietnam touched $6.7 billion, while Indian imports from Vietnam amounted to $7.44 billion in the same period, India's Ministry of External Affairs said.

Indian exports to Vietnam include iron and steel, cotton, cereals, meat and fishery products, electrical machinery and equipment, automobile parts, cement, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

India’s import basket from Vietnam mainly includes electrical and electronic equipment, inorganic chemicals, machinery and mechanical appliances, copper and rubber, coffee and tea, spices, iron and steel.

India’s investments in Vietnam are estimated at around $1.9 billion in energy, mineral exploration, agriculture, information technology and other areas, according to the country's External Affairs Ministry.

Vietnam has invested over $28.55 million in India, mainly in pharmaceuticals, information technology, chemicals, and building materials.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, receives his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh as the latter arrives for talks, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh walk together as the latter arrives for talks, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh walk together as the latter arrives for talks in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh walk together as the latter arrives for talks in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, receives his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh as the latter arrives for talks in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh join hands during a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, receives his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, during a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, receives his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, during a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.

Pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah exploded near-simultaneously Tuesday in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding more than 2,000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack.

The AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary’s capital, according to a statement released Wednesday by Gold Apollo.

“According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” the statement read.

Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang told journalists Wednesday that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, but did not provide evidence of the contract.

At about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, as people shopped for groceries, sat in cafes or drove cars and motorcycles, the pagers in their hands or pockets started heating up and then exploding — leaving blood-splattered scenes and panicking bystanders.

It appeared that many of those hit were members of Hezbollah, but it was not immediately clear if non-Hezbollah members also carried any of the exploding pagers.

The blasts were mainly in areas where the group has a strong presence, particularly a southern Beirut suburb and in the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon, as well as in Damascus, according to Lebanese security officials and a Hezbollah official. The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Experts believe explosive material was put into the pagers prior to their delivery and use in a sophisticated supply chain infiltration.

The AR-924 pager, advertised as being “rugged,” contains a rechargeable lithium battery, according to specifications once advertised on Gold Apollo’s website before it was apparently taken down Tuesday after the sabotage attack. It could receive texts of up to 100 characters.

It also claimed to have up to 85 days of battery life. That would be crucial in Lebanon, where electricity outages have been common after years of economic collapse. Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them more resilient in emergencies — one of the reasons why many hospitals worldwide still rely on them.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs said from the beginning of 2022 until August 2024, Gold Apollo has exported 260,000 sets of pagers, including more than 40,000 sets between January and August of this year. The ministry said the pagers were exported mainly to European and American countries and that it had no records of direct exports of Gold Apollo pagers to Lebanon.

For Hezbollah, the militants also looked at the pagers as a means to sidestep what’s believed to be intensive Israeli electronic surveillance on mobile phone networks in Lebanon.

“The phone that we have in our hands — I do not have a phone in my hand — is a listening device,” warned Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a February speech.

He later added: “I tell you that the phone in your hands, in your wife’s hands, and in your children’s hands is the agent. It is a deadly agent, not a simple one. It is a deadly agent that provides specific and accurate information. Therefore, this requires great seriousness when confronting it.”

Associated Press journalist Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Civil Defense first-responders carry a man who was wounded after his handheld pager exploded, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.(AP Photo)

Hsu Ching-kuang, chairman of Apollo Gold, talks about the Taiwan company's communication products at the headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

Hsu Ching-kuang, chairman of Apollo Gold, talks about the Taiwan company's communication products at the headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

A police officer inspects a car in which a hand-held pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People gather outside the American University hospital after the arrival of several men who were wounded by exploded handheld pagers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bassam Masri)

Lebanese soldiers stand guard at a street that leads to the American University hospital where they bring wounded people whose handheld pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)