ds 468x60px

Monday, September 8, 2014

Vietnam is preparing deterrent against China in disputed seas with new submarines

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."
  
"It is a classic asymmetric warfare utilized by the weak against the strong and something I think the Vietnamese understand very well. The question is whether they can perfect it in the underwater dimension."