Vietnam's land forces boast a formidable fighting reputation, having, within living memory, defeated French, American and Chinese military forces.
Less well known, though, is Vietnam's noteworthy naval tradition.
General Ngo Quyen is a national hero, being still revered for his defeat of a Chinese fleet at the Battle of Bach Dang River in 938 AD.
Hanoi is now taking advantage of Vietnam's economic boom to give great priority to the upgrading of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Navy (SRVN), its prime intent being to counter Beijing's dominance of seaways in and around the South China Sea. Of particular concern is the sovereignty of the Spratly Islands, which are strategically located in the south-eastern sector of the South China Sea, and which abut areas containing important mineral and fishing resources. Ownership of some, or all, of this widely scattered conglomeration of islands, islets and atolls is contested by Brunei, China, Malaysia, The Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The Vietnamese are still smarting from Beijing's annexation, following a major naval engagement, of the Paracel Islands in 1974, as well as from China's armed seizure of the Johnson Reef, in the Spratly Islands, in 1988.
The Paracels are now, incidentally, the site of strategically important Chinese warship support and electronic intelligence gathering facilities.
Regional tensions over the Spratly Islands smoulder on with diplomatic wrangling and propaganda moves being carried out to the accompaniment of periodic confrontations at sea.
These spats are often between Chinese paramilitary patrol vessels and Vietnamese fishing boats. Both Hanoi and Beijing claim to be setting up tourist facilities, in order to encourage peaceful use of the islands, while in 2009 China detained a number of Vietnamese fishermen, before releasing them early this year.
There have also been reports alleging that China is exerting behind-the-scenes pressure on Western energy companies, which are pursuing joint offshore oil prospecting ventures with Vietnamese companies.
In pursuit of the naval modernisation and expansion necessary for them to make a maritime stand against the Chinese, the Vietnamese continue to acquire a range of modern warships from long time ally Russia, as well as to build up their own naval construction capabilities.
Since the late 1970s, the core of the SRVN order of battle has been five ex- Soviet Petya frigates. Armed with four 76mm guns, and equipped with surveillance radar, these Cold War-era warships have for years been very active in the seas around the Spratly Islands.
Modern missile ships started to join the SRVN inventory in 1996, in the form of four Russian-built Tarantul IV missile corvettes, equipped with four SSN – 2D Styx surface-to- surface systems. These ships have since been joined by two more advanced variants of the same design, known as the Tarantul V-, or Molniya-class. Built by Vympel in Russia, these 35-knot vessels are fitted with an impressive battery of sixteen SS-N-25 missiles, backed up with a quadruple SA-N-5 surface-to-air missile launcher, and a 76mm gun.
More of these potent warships may eventually be built in Vietnam.
In 2005, two newly-built, 370-tonne, Svetlyak-class offshore patrol vessels were commissioned into the SRVN. Widely deployed in the EEZ surveillance role, large numbers of this type serve with paramilitary Russian maritime forces.
The 50-metre ships mount an armament of one 76mm gun, backed up by a six-barrel 30mm AK 630 rotary cannon and SA-N-10 short range surface-to-air missiles.
Hanoi recently announced that it had ordered two more Svetlyak OPVs, to be constructed in Russia's Almaz shipyard, with an option for a further pair.
Vietnam's very active shipbuilding industry, while focused mainly on the construction of merchant vessels, has gained, with Russian assistance, valuable experience of warship construction in recent years, building two BPS 500 corvettes from kits supplied by Russia.
Based on the design of the Soviet Navy's Pauk corvette and displacing 517 tonnes, these vessels mount a main armament of eight SS-N-25s.
In a development which could prove to be of considerable significance, the SRVN's ability to carry out sustained deep sea offensive and defensive operations is due to receive a major boost late this year, with the commissioning of the first of two new Gepard frigates currently in build in Russia.
Under construction at the Zelenodolskoye Shipyard, these 2,000-tonne ships, which feature combined diesel and gas turbine power units, will have the SS-N-25 system, as well as a 76mm gun, SA-N-4 anti-aircraft missiles and anti-submarine rockets and torpedoes.
A helicopter deck will enable anti-surface and anti-submarine operations by a Ka 28, or equivalent, helicopter.
Two more Gepards are due eventually to be constructed in Vietnam.
Furthermore, Hanoi's aerial surveillance capabilities are currently being dramatically upgraded with the acquisition of M28 maritime patrol planes. Two of these Polish-built twin turboprop aircraft, equipped with medium range search radar, are already in service.
Now, a quantum leap in SRVN capabilities is in prospect, with the December 2009 signing of an order for six of the well proven, quiet and highly manoeuvrable Kilo conventional attack submarines.
The subs, which are to be built at the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg, are reportedly to be armed with Klub anti-shipping missiles, as well as the latest heavyweight torpedoes. Kilo submarines are already in service with eight navies.
The Vietnamese have some limited experience of operating submarines, in the form of a pair of North Korean-built Sang O coastal boats acquired in the 1990s.
In ordering the 2,300-tonne Kilos, which offer endurance, as well as highly developed surveillance and attack capabilities, Hanoi has demonstrated that it is intent on gaining a strong and widely deployable underwater warfare capability.
The SRVN, though, certainly faces a daunting learning curve, if it is to achieve excellence in submarine warfare, arguably the most demanding of naval disciplines.
The deal, signed in Moscow on December 15, 2009, by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Tan Dung, reportedly also includes the upgrading of Vietnamese naval base facilities, a range of naval training programmes, and an order for twelve advanced Su-30Mk2 fighter jets.
The previously isolationist SRVN has, in recent years, raised its profile, by partaking in both exercises and defence diplomacy activities, with a wide range of Western and Asian naval forces, including those of arch-rival China.
Also, the last decade has seen Hanoi greatly bolster its fixed facilities in and around the Spratly Islands. Some 30 of these outcrops are now fortified, and manned by Vietnamese soldiers.
Troop contingents are transported and supplied by a flotilla of dedicated, indigenously-built, support ships. The presence of these offshore garrisons, which gives Hanoi a military presence in the islands comfortably in excess of that of rival claimants, could prove to be Hanoi's strongest Spratly card.
In a move intended to further beef up Vietnamese maritime security, the National Assembly approved the establishment of a marine militia in November 2009. This new part-time force will carry out surveillance and response duties both at sea and on land along Vietnam's 3,200 kilometre-long coastline.
Trevor Hollingsbee
