It appears as if that may not be the case. A quick look in the documentation for VB.NET Language Specification, Chapter 10; Operators says in section 10.6 (Relational Operators):

10.6 Relational Operators

The relational operators compare values to one other. The comparison 
operators are =, <>, <, >, <=, and >=. All of the relational operators 
result in a Boolean value.

Nothing implied about == in this section anyway. Certainly doesn't mean it doesn't exist though ... all this means is based upon the VB.NET documentation, the code you noted seems to be syntactically correct.

CT