Will it help Vietnam break free from its dependence on Russia?, US Vietnam strengthens military cooperation

The upgrade of US Vietnam relations from a "comprehensive partnership" to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" has raised concerns about how the military relationship between the two countries will develop.

Recently, US President Biden visited Vietnam. The most noteworthy aspect of Biden's trip is that the United States and Vietnam have agreed to elevate their relationship from a comprehensive partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership. US officials say that the United States and its partners can help Vietnam break free from its dependence on Russian military.

Conquering Vietnam, the United States Continuously Gives Armaments

According to reports, expanding the sources of weapons in Vietnam is one of the purposes of the visit. US Deputy National Security Advisor Fener pointed out on the plane to Vietnam with Biden that the security sector also belongs to the cooperation level of the US Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership. He said that there is currently no announcement of arms trade between the two countries, but the United States and its partners can help Vietnam break free from its dependence on Russian military.

The United States and Vietnam once faced each other in military, and their relationship was like water and fire. However, over time, although there were still many grievances, they gradually approached and utilized each other under the drive of some common interests. Against the backdrop of improved relations between the United States and Vietnam, cooperation in the military field is also being approached with caution. In 2007, the United States amended the arms trade terms to allow the sale of non lethal weapons to Vietnam. According to a report from the US State Department, from 2007 to 2010, the US sold a total of $98.5 million in defense supplies to Vietnam. In 2014, the United States partially lifted its arms sales ban on Vietnam and allowed the sale of weapons and equipment related to maritime security to Vietnam.

In May 2016, during his visit to Vietnam, then US President Obama announced that the United States would fully lift the arms sales ban on Vietnam, but "every transaction will be reviewed". This was a breakthrough move, and the United States later decided to gift Vietnam retired patrol ships. On December 15, 2017, the USS Morgentso patrol ship gifted by the United States arrived in Vietnam. This patrol ship is in service in the third district of the Vietnam Coast Guard Command and has been renumbered CSB8020.

The Moganso belongs to the Hamilton class patrol ship of the United States. It entered service in 1969 and is 115 meters long, with a full displacement of 3250 tons. It is equipped with 76mm main guns, 20mm dense array close range guns, and helicopters, equivalent to an artillery frigate. For Vietnam, the Moganso patrol ship is a truly large vessel, nearly 1000 tons larger than the main Vietnamese frigate, the Cheetah class. It is worth mentioning that the patrol ship "Morgentso" participated in the US Vietnam War, sinking and injuring multiple North Vietnamese ships. It is regrettable that the former aggressors finally came under their own command.

In May 2020, Vietnam received the second Hamilton class patrol ship gifted by the United States. The United States has decided to gift Vietnam a third patrol ship of this class, but it has not yet been delivered. From the photos released by Vietnam, it can be seen that the patrol ship gifted by the United States has removed the "dense formation" close range guns and some electronic equipment such as radar, and retained the 76mm main gun. Vietnam has not added weapons and equipment to it.

In addition to patrol ships, the United States also donated more than ten Metal Shark class patrol boats to Vietnam. These patrol boats were manufactured by the Metal Shark Shipyard Company in Louisiana and equipped with the US Coast Guard. The patrol boats have a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour, are flexible and can accommodate up to 10 crew members.

Each with their own ulterior motives, the foundation of military cooperation is fragile

If the above-mentioned donation of patrol ships belongs to cooperation in the field of general security, then providing training planes and tacitly allowing Israel to sell weapons to Vietnam belong to the scope of arms trade. After completing the gift of patrol ships, Vietnam began to seek junior training planes from the United States. In 2021, the US Air Force agreed to sell three T-6 propeller style junior trainer aircraft to Vietnam. According to the information released at the time, including pilot training and spare parts supply, it is expected that the handover of the aircraft will take place no later than mid-2023.

The T-6 is a single engine turboprop basic trainer aircraft developed by the former American luxury aircraft company, mainly for flight trainees to learn basic flying skills. This aircraft actually originated from the PC-9 trainer aircraft from Switzerland, which is an internationally renowned junior trainer aircraft, and is codenamed T-6 Texan II by the US Air Force. The first production aircraft of the T-6 made its maiden flight in 1998, and the first trainer aircraft was delivered to the United States Air Force in 2000.

This time, the United States and Vietnam have elevated their relationship from a "comprehensive partnership" to a "comprehensive strategic partnership". The United States also claims to help Vietnam break free from its dependence on Russian made weapons, indicating that military cooperation between the two countries may further escalate in the future. The weapons provided by the United States to Vietnam are no longer basic equipment such as cruise ships and basic training aircraft, but may include lethal weapons such as artillery, missiles, and anti submarine patrol aircraft.

The Vietnamese Navy currently most wants large anti submarine patrol aircraft, and the United States is likely to provide Vietnam with retired P-3C anti submarine patrol aircraft in the next step. Previously, there were media reports that Vietnam planned to purchase six second-hand US P-3C maritime patrol aircraft to help patrol its 3500 kilometer coastline and maritime exclusive economic zone. The United States has expressed support for this and even proposed a series of preferential measures.

The P-3C is a multi-purpose anti submarine patrol aircraft successfully developed by the United States in the 1960s. It uses four turboprop engines and has a maximum range of nearly 9000 kilometers. It is equipped with radar, optoelectronics, sonar buoys, and magnetometers, and can carry anti submarine weapons such as torpedoes and depth charges. If necessary, it can also carry Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Mavericks air-to-ground missiles, and mines to carry out sea strikes and mine laying tasks. It is an excellent multi-purpose anti submarine patrol aircraft, which is not only heavily equipped with the US Navy, but also exported to multiple countries such as Japan and Australia. After the new generation of anti submarine patrol aircraft P-8A entered service, the US Navy's P-3C equipment has been largely retired from service. These second-hand P-3Cs have also become tools for the US to win over some countries or regions. Some have been refurbished and sold to make a profit, while others are provided as gifts to some countries to earn some after-sales service money.

The patrol aircraft currently equipped by the Vietnamese military is the M-28 patrol aircraft imported from Poland. In 2003, Vietnam reached an agreement with Poland to introduce 10 M-28 maritime patrol aircraft, a small patrol aircraft modified from the Soviet An-28 transport aircraft, with a range of approximately 1500 kilometers. Due to being a small patrol aircraft equipped only with ARS-400 radar and without anti submarine equipment such as magnetic detectors and sonar buoys, and with a maximum detection range of only about 160 kilometers, both in terms of flight distance and detection system performance, it is difficult to complete large-scale patrols in the South China Sea, and anti submarine capabilities are almost non-existent. If Vietnam obtains the P-3C, the patrol range and endurance will be greatly expanded, and the aviation anti submarine capability will also be improved.

In addition to anti submarine patrol aircraft, Vietnam may also seek weapons such as warning radars, second-hand E-2C air warning aircraft, anti-artillery radars, and "javelin" anti tank missiles from the United States, which are all weapons and equipment that the Vietnamese military lacks but wants to possess. Taking anti artillery radar as an example, Vietnam suffered a great loss from anti artillery radar in the war, and even now there is no advanced anti artillery radar. However, the United States has developed advanced anti artillery radars such as AN/TPQ-53 and AN/TPQ-37. It is worth paying attention to whether Vietnam will introduce them in the future.

Many readers may know that the weapons and equipment of the Vietnamese army are mostly made by the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, as an ally of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union provided Vietnam with a large number of weapons. After the end of the Cold War, Russia, which inherited the mantle, became Vietnam's main weapon supplier. For example, a large number of advanced main weapons, such as Su-30 fighter jets, Cheetah class frigates, Kilo class submarines, Fortress P shore ship missiles, T-90 tanks, S-300 air defense missiles, etc., were purchased from Russia. The United States claims to help Vietnam break free from its dependence on Russian made weapons, but this statement is a bit exaggerated because the Vietnamese military still relies on Russia for a large number of main combat weapons and logistics maintenance. The cost of replacing Russian made weapons with Western style weapons is very high, not only is it astonishing, but it also takes time for Western style weapons to form combat capabilities, and the training system has undergone significant changes.

Vietnam can only purchase a portion of Western weapons, and has previously purchased anti-aircraft missiles and rocket launchers from Israel, striving for a diversified source of weapons. There are also some political demands through the purchase of weapons, which is to balance the power of other major powers. Therefore, for a long time in the future, Vietnam will not be able to break away from its dependence on Russian made weapons, and the cooperation between the United States and Vietnam, with each having its own ulterior motives, will also constrain the development of military cooperation between the two countries.