Vietnamese build-up a response to China

June 03. 2008
Robert Karniol, Foreign Correspondent
The National (United Arab Emirate, UAE)

Bangkok - Vietnam is buying maritime patrol aircraft to strengthen its offshore capabilities to control its exclusive economic zone and to counter China’s armed forces build-up.

The two countries fought a brief but bloody border war in 1979 over Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia, whose Khmer Rouge regime was supported by Beijing. They have also clashed sporadically over conflicting claims to the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands, both in the South China Sea.

“Hanoi’s force modernisation is probably not directly linked to these territorial feuds,” said a Hanoi-based source on condition of anonymity. “But it has been strengthening its maritime force with a particular eye on China’s military build-up.”

Anthony Davis, a regional security analyst in Bangkok, said Vietnam is just being prudent. “It is more cautionary than confrontational.”

The People’s Liberation Army’s expansive development is normally seen in the context of China’s long-standing sovereignty claim to Taiwan, and the potential military involvement of the United States in any conflict that could arise over this issue. However, Vietnam’s low-profile revival of its armed forces is reflective of broader concerns over China’s rise in the region.

The Vietnamese coast guard, separated from the navy in 1998 but still under the defence ministry, is due within days to finalise a contract for three aircraft with an estimated value of €30 million (Dh172m).

In keeping with Hanoi’s culture of secrecy, the deal has yet to be announced.

The contract involves three EADS-CASA C212 Series 400 maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft produced in Spain and equipped with the MSS 6000 side-looking airborne radar from Swedish Space Corp. These platforms are capable of conducting eight-hour patrols over a distance of 1,000 nautical miles.

Vietnam’s current capability in patrolling its coast is limited. The air force has four Beriev Be-12 flying boats obtained from the former Soviet Union in 1981, but these are thought to be fitted mainly for anti-submarine warfare rather than the wider mission of maritime surveillance.

The air force sought to address this deficiency through its acquisition from Poland in 2005 of two Skytrucks, with a further eight on option. Warsaw had hoped to outfit these aircraft with a surveillance radar to allow their use in the maritime patrolling role, but Hanoi appears to have grown doubtful after one of the initial two platforms crashed within a few months and killed three people.

The option for Vietnam to acquire eight additional Skytrucks has yet to be pursued. However, the air force is still thought to be looking to upgrade and expand its maritime surveillance capability under a requirement separate from the coast guard deal.

The new aircraft should substantially boost the coast guard’s ability to police Vietnam’s economic zone.

This includes the responsibility to control fisheries, address environmental concerns and reduce piracy.

The agency’s lack of resources was highlighted late last year when 800km of undersea cable was stolen, significantly disrupting Vietnam’s communications traffic.

Local fishermen are suspected of the theft, which has never been solved.

Policing issues aside, the Vietnam People’s Army has been upgrading its offshore capabilities to better balance its forces against a rapidly expanding China. Hanoi and Beijing have seen tensions reduced in recent years through some political accommodation, particularly driven by a surge in trade. Still, suspicions rooted in history and in outstanding territorial disputes remain as thorns impeding close relations.

Lt Gen Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, alluded to such underlying tensions in an otherwise upbeat presentation to delegates attending a recent security conference in Singapore. Touching on several security challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region, he said that “traditional territorial and maritime disputes are yet to be properly solved”.

Lt Gen Ma went on to explain the rationale behind China’s military expansion.

“History tells us that we must rely on ourselves for sufficient defensive capabilities in order to survive and create better lives in peace. To strengthen defence development is the fundamental guarantee to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.

Vietnam’s offshore military build-up is driven by similar thinking.

Aside from the maritime patrol aircraft requirement, Vietnam’s effort includes the continuing local production of 30 to 40 blue-water naval ships, the largest at about 2,500 tonnes, and 20 coastal vessels each displacing 200 tonnes to 400 tonnes. Sophisticated anti-ship missiles have been fitted on its Sukhoi Su-22 fighter aircraft and on several surface ships, including one corvette and 12 missile craft, and coastal radars have been upgraded.

The navy also obtained its first submarines about a decade ago, two small boats acquired from North Korea that are seen as preliminary to a more substantial undersea force that has yet to be prioritised.

rkarniol@thenational.ae