Vietnam is arming its expanding submarine fleet with land attack missiles that could be capable of reaching Chinese coastal cities, a choice of weapon likely to be seen as provocative by China in the ongoing South China Sea dispute.
The independent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently updated data on its Web site to show Vietnam’s acquisition of the Russian-made land-attack variant of the Klub missile for its state-of-the-art Kilo-class attack submarines.
SIPRI arms researcher Siemon Wezeman said the entry was based on an earlier, but little-noticed filing Vietnam made last year to the UN’s register of conventional arms.
Photo: Reuters
Regional military attaches and analysts see the missiles as a further sign of Vietnam’s determination to counter the rise of China’s military and part of a broader trend of Asian countries rearming amid rising territorial tensions.
The choice of weapon is a more assertive one than the anti-ship missiles Vietnam was expected to obtain.
While those would potentially target Chinese ships and submarines in the South China Sea, the land-attack weapons are capable of precision strikes at a range of 300km, making China’s coastal cities potential targets in any conflict.
Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnam’s military at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said the move was a “massive shift” beyond more routine anti-ship tactics.
“They’ve given themselves a much more powerful deterrent that complicates China’s strategic calculations,” he said, adding he was surprised by the move.
Vietnam is the first Southeast Asian nation to arm its submarine fleet with a land-attack missile.
The Vietnamese ministries of defense and foreign affairs have yet to respond to questions submitted by reporters. Vietnamese military officials have previously described the nation’s arms build-up, including the submarine purchases, as defensive.
Moscow-based Almaz-Antey, parent company of the missiles’ manufacturer Novator, declined to comment on any weapon sales to Vietnam.
Rather than risk an attack on cities such as Shanghai, it is more likely Vietnam would see closer ports and airfields, such as the naval base at Sanya on China’s Hainan Island and facilities on land reclamations China is building in the South China Sea, as potential targets, Thayer said.
While communist parties rule both Vietnam and China, Hanoi has long been wary of Beijing, especially over Chinese claims to most of the potentially oil-rich South China Sea.
Beijing’s placement of an oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam last year sparked riots in Vietnam and infuriated Hanoi’s leadership. Its coast guard ships and fishing boats were routinely chased away by larger Chinese ships during the stand-off.
The two navies routinely eye each other over disputed holdings in the sea’s Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), which Taiwan also claims.
Before obtaining the latest weapons, Hanoi’s previous land-attack capabilities were limited to a handful of aging Scud missiles and more limited weapons fired by Russian-built Su-30 aircraft.
Vietnam’s navy has taken possession of three Russian-built Kilos and a fourth is in transit as part of a US$2.6 billion deal struck with Moscow in 2009, according to Vietnamese state press reports. A fifth is undergoing sea trials off St Petersburg, Russia, and a final sixth submarine is due for completion next year.
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