HONG KONG - Vietnam will
soon have a reliable naval warning to China in the disputed South China Sea in
the form of a Kilo-class submarines which
they will acquire from Russia.
Experts say that the
submarines would make Beijing hesitate from pushing its much smaller neighbors around into
the disputed area.
Originally, Vietnam was
known as a master of guerrilla warfare. Now, Vietnam has taken ownership of two
advanced submarines and will get a third in November under a $2.6 billion contract
with Moscow last 2009. All three
submarines are scheduled to be delivered within two years.
Considering that Vietnam and China are both communist parties and
annual trade has increased to $50 billion, Hanoi has long been wary of China, particularly
over Beijing's claims to 90 percent of energy-rich South China Sea. Recently,
Beijing has placed an oil rig in water that is claimed by Vietnam.
The coast guard vessels that
were dispatched by Vietnamese to the platform were always chased off by larger
Chinese boats.
Experts said that the
Vietnamese are expected to run so-called area denial operations off its coast
and around its military bases in the Spratly island chain of the South China
Sea once the submarines are fully working.
Although China has much
larger naval forces, the Vietnamese’s operation would confuse Chinese
calculation over any military move against them in an event of an armed clash
over disputed oil fields.
In connection to the
Vietnamese action, Collin Koh of Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of
International Studies said the following statement "Sea denial means
creating a psychological deterrent,by making sure a stronger naval rival never
really knows where your subs might be."
