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AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE | PUBLISHED: 4
AUG 2011 20:45
.
HANOI - Vietnam will have a submarine
fleet within six years, the defense
minister reportedly confirmed Aug. 4, in
what analysts say is intended as a
deterrent to China's increasing
assertiveness at sea. Russian media reported in December
2009 that Vietnam had agreed to buy
half a dozen diesel-electric submarines
for about $2 billion. "In the coming five to six years, we will
have a submarine brigade with six Kilo
636-Class subs," Defence Minister
Phung Quang Thanh was quoted as
saying by the state-controlled Tuoi Tre
newspaper. Thanh said the fleet was "definitely not
meant as a menace to regional nations,"
according to the report. "Buying submarines, missiles, fighter
jets and other equipment is for self-
defense," he was quoted as saying. Ian Storey, a regional security analyst at
the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
(ISEAS) in Singapore, said the
submarine deal has been driven by
events in the South China Sea, where
China and Vietnam have a longstanding territorial spat over the Paracel and
Spratly archipelagos. Tensions rose after Vietnam in May
accused Chinese marine surveillance
vessels of cutting the exploration
cables of an oil survey ship inside the
country's exclusive economic zone. "These purchases are designed to deter
the Chinese from encroaching on
Vietnamese sovereignty," Storey told
AFP. He said the country already operates
two midget submarines bought years
ago from North Korea. In the newspaper report, Thanh did not
specify how Vietnam was paying for its
naval upgrade. "It depends on our economic ability.
Vietnam has yet to produce modern
weapons and military equipment,
which are costly to import," he said. Analysts say the country's economy is
in turmoil with galloping inflation, large
trade and budget deficits, inefficient
state spending, and other woes. Much of Vietnam's military hardware is
antiquated but this week it received the
first of three new coastal patrol planes
for the marine police, announced the
manufacturer, Madrid-based Airbus
Military.
AUG 2011 20:45
.
HANOI - Vietnam will have a submarine
fleet within six years, the defense
minister reportedly confirmed Aug. 4, in
what analysts say is intended as a
deterrent to China's increasing
assertiveness at sea. Russian media reported in December
2009 that Vietnam had agreed to buy
half a dozen diesel-electric submarines
for about $2 billion. "In the coming five to six years, we will
have a submarine brigade with six Kilo
636-Class subs," Defence Minister
Phung Quang Thanh was quoted as
saying by the state-controlled Tuoi Tre
newspaper. Thanh said the fleet was "definitely not
meant as a menace to regional nations,"
according to the report. "Buying submarines, missiles, fighter
jets and other equipment is for self-
defense," he was quoted as saying. Ian Storey, a regional security analyst at
the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
(ISEAS) in Singapore, said the
submarine deal has been driven by
events in the South China Sea, where
China and Vietnam have a longstanding territorial spat over the Paracel and
Spratly archipelagos. Tensions rose after Vietnam in May
accused Chinese marine surveillance
vessels of cutting the exploration
cables of an oil survey ship inside the
country's exclusive economic zone. "These purchases are designed to deter
the Chinese from encroaching on
Vietnamese sovereignty," Storey told
AFP. He said the country already operates
two midget submarines bought years
ago from North Korea. In the newspaper report, Thanh did not
specify how Vietnam was paying for its
naval upgrade. "It depends on our economic ability.
Vietnam has yet to produce modern
weapons and military equipment,
which are costly to import," he said. Analysts say the country's economy is
in turmoil with galloping inflation, large
trade and budget deficits, inefficient
state spending, and other woes. Much of Vietnam's military hardware is
antiquated but this week it received the
first of three new coastal patrol planes
for the marine police, announced the
manufacturer, Madrid-based Airbus
Military.
