dunhill
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Vietnam prepares to better protect its S. China Sea claims
Together, these capabilities enable China to backstop its growing diplomatic assertiveness with an increasingly expansive and credible keep-out zone, within which it will be far more difficult for U.S. forces to operate.
Thomas argues that Washington's response must include support allowing its friends and allies in the region to develop their own A2/AD capabilities.
But, irrespective of U.S. policy, this is something Hanoi has already figured out.
Like China, Vietnam faces the same dilemma in seeking to counter a potential adversary of superior military capability.
Hanoi's acquisitions of the Su-30MK multi-role fighter and the Gepard-class frigate are indicative of its A2/AD effort. Rather than looking at the numbers involved, consider the armament.
The fighter's weapons fit is thought to include the Kh-59MK anti-ship cruise missile which has a 115-km range, while the frigate carries the Kh-35E anti-ship missile. The latter has an operational range of 130 km and can attack vessels of up to 5,000 tons.
Hanoi's outstanding order for six Kilo- class submarines fits significantly into this mix as well. The weapons fit is expected to include the sea-skimming 3M-54 Klub anti-ship missile, ranging up to 300 km.
Meanwhile, land-based coastal defense has recently been strengthened through the Extended Range Artillery Munition obtained from Israel, a short-range ballistic missile effective beyond 150km, while air defense capabilities were bolstered by three sophisticated Vera passive radio locators from Czech Republic. Washington initially blocked the Vera sale but later reversed its decision.
These and similar initiatives show that Vietnam would be no pushover were the PLA to try seizing the South China Sea. Mirroring Beijing's A2/AD strategy, Hanoi is introducing capabilities that threaten to make any Chinese adventurism there more complex and more costly than a simple comparison of air and naval assets suggests.
Vietnamese military planners, with decades of combat experience behind them, have reached this solution themselves. But Thomas, in his article for American Interest, comes to a similar conclusion.
The most important shift the United States needs to make is to become a systemic enabler of a more distributed network of allied defenses, he wrote. Rather than designing military systems principally to arm U.S. forces, America must help allies build their own anti-access capabilities.
Japan is among those already considering how it might proceed. But beyond that, one analyst told The Straits Times: There is a clear trend emerging.
Sources:Vietnam prepares to better protect its S. China Sea claims - The China Post English version.
Sources:Kh-59MK: Vietnamese version.
Together, these capabilities enable China to backstop its growing diplomatic assertiveness with an increasingly expansive and credible keep-out zone, within which it will be far more difficult for U.S. forces to operate.
Thomas argues that Washington's response must include support allowing its friends and allies in the region to develop their own A2/AD capabilities.
But, irrespective of U.S. policy, this is something Hanoi has already figured out.
Like China, Vietnam faces the same dilemma in seeking to counter a potential adversary of superior military capability.
Hanoi's acquisitions of the Su-30MK multi-role fighter and the Gepard-class frigate are indicative of its A2/AD effort. Rather than looking at the numbers involved, consider the armament.
The fighter's weapons fit is thought to include the Kh-59MK anti-ship cruise missile which has a 115-km range, while the frigate carries the Kh-35E anti-ship missile. The latter has an operational range of 130 km and can attack vessels of up to 5,000 tons.
Hanoi's outstanding order for six Kilo- class submarines fits significantly into this mix as well. The weapons fit is expected to include the sea-skimming 3M-54 Klub anti-ship missile, ranging up to 300 km.
Meanwhile, land-based coastal defense has recently been strengthened through the Extended Range Artillery Munition obtained from Israel, a short-range ballistic missile effective beyond 150km, while air defense capabilities were bolstered by three sophisticated Vera passive radio locators from Czech Republic. Washington initially blocked the Vera sale but later reversed its decision.
These and similar initiatives show that Vietnam would be no pushover were the PLA to try seizing the South China Sea. Mirroring Beijing's A2/AD strategy, Hanoi is introducing capabilities that threaten to make any Chinese adventurism there more complex and more costly than a simple comparison of air and naval assets suggests.
Vietnamese military planners, with decades of combat experience behind them, have reached this solution themselves. But Thomas, in his article for American Interest, comes to a similar conclusion.
The most important shift the United States needs to make is to become a systemic enabler of a more distributed network of allied defenses, he wrote. Rather than designing military systems principally to arm U.S. forces, America must help allies build their own anti-access capabilities.
Japan is among those already considering how it might proceed. But beyond that, one analyst told The Straits Times: There is a clear trend emerging.
Sources:Vietnam prepares to better protect its S. China Sea claims - The China Post English version.
Sources:Kh-59MK: Vietnamese version.
do you mean if there is no demand in Indian Army..you wont take that crap? maybe this Brahmos is over-rated..you you guys want to wait and see if there any use in INdian army...I understand that 
