Vietnam's (Russian speaking) Kilo Submarine Service

Vietnam ordered 6 Improved Kilo 636s with at least three received from Russia so far.

On April 30, 2015 it was reported that Vietnam has been acquiring 50 anti-ship and land attack 3M-14E Klub (SS-N-27A “Sizzler”) supersonic cruise missiles for its Kilos. Russia has already delivered 28 Klubs to Vietnam over the last two years. Those Klubs may have a range beyond 300km.

Vietnam's Tuoi Tre News reports, April 21, 2015 perceived importance of Russian language training and importance of instilling group feeling in Vietnamese Kilo submarine crews. I wonder if it would be true to say that the Vietnamese are natural soldiers and sailors - given all the wars-threats they've had to face. With Russian and Chinese help Vietnam beat the US and Australia and other allies by the early-mid 1970s (though few here will admit it). Russia, the US and India are now all involved in establishing closer relations with Vietnam - for economic reasons and as part of a wider contain China strategy. The string for the Tuoi Tre News article is  http://tuoitrenews.vn/features/27604/life-at-kiloclass-submarine-brigade-in-vietnam. The article is also reproduced (with photos retained) at Talk Vietnam http://www.talkvietnam.com/2015/04/life-at-kilo-class-submarine-brigade-in-vietnam/ :

 
"Life at Kilo-class submarine brigade in Vietnam"

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper contributor has expressed her marvel at the wholehearted dedication, rigorous training, and diligent study of the Russian language among the sailors stationed at a submarine base in central Vietnam after a recent visit.

The Tuoi Tre contributor narrated her memorable experiences during her trip to Submarine Brigade 189 under the Vietnam People's Navy.

The brigade is based in the Cam Ranh Military Port, which is situated in Khanh Hoa Province.

Before the brigade was founded in June 2011, selected soldiers joined a training course in Russia in October 2010 prior to passing on what they had learned to their colleagues and juniors at home.

However, rigorous training began well before that.

Over 30 years ago, Submarine Regiment 196 came into being and boasted well-qualified human resources.

Many members of the regiment's force were later transferred to the current Submarine Brigade 189.

Younger recruits to the brigade all excel in technical training, have good physique and stamina, and cope well under pressure.

One of the initial challenges involved newcomers spinning over 100 times and they were requested to regain balance shortly after the spinning came to a stop.

They also took on an immense challenge which required them to stay in a compressed air chamber with its pressure equivalent to that at a depth of 50 to 70 meters.

Such strenuous challenges now become their everyday routines.

Training in dispute management aboard the sub!

The "sailors' arduous physical training did not surprise theTuoi Tre contributor as much as their single-minded devotion to honing their professional skills and command of Russian."

---

[Drill and discipline are a key part of training.]

During her trip to the Russian-supported Submarine Training Center, which is located inside the Cam Ranh Military Port, she was amazed at the perplexingly intricate simulations, diagrams, and annotations written in Russian.

The center is one of Southeast Asia's most state-of-the-art facilities.

An officer affirmed that the sailors and staff there all have an adequate grasp of Russian.

The sailors’ eagerness to learn the Russian language was confirmed after the Tuoi Tre contributor met Team 7, which was once trained in India.

On Friday evening, the members did not watch films or sing together.

The 40-year-old team leader and his juniors as young as 24 years old were totally engrossed in their Russian studies.

Trained in Russia, the Tuoi Tre contributor sought permission to join their learning session.

Her keen observations showed that even those who just took up the language a few months back and mostly learn by teaching themselves are surprisingly proficient in the language.

The Russian experts who the Tuoi Tre contributor briefly talked to earlier during the trip gave them profuse compliments on their diligence, brightness, and willingness to learn.

The brigade received two Kilo-class submarines 182-Hanoi and 183-Ho Chi Minh City over one year ago but the officers and sailors have been in full control of the vessels.

They do not need accompanying Russian experts during their trips that last several days under the sea.

Vietnam signed a contract to buy six Kilo-class subs from Russia during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Moscow in 2009.

Officers and hands on the 184-Hai Phong Submarine also manoeuvered the ship with relative ease thanks to their adequate grasp of the Russian language.

Apart from taking classes in professional skills, the sailors spend 3.5 hours from 7:30 pm to 11:00 pm every day but they still can get up at 6:00 the next morning for a three-kilometer run.

The officers insist only Russian be used in many of their internal meetings.  

No room for errors

Safety and teamwork are the utmost priority among submarine sailors.

“There’s no room whatsoever for errors, as they may cost lives,” the head of Submarine Brigade 189 stressed.

One of the stories which the Tuoi Tre contributor found most compelling was the sonar radar operators’ keen sense of hearing to detect all passing ships of various sizes.

During highly authentic emergency exit drills, whenever some problem arose in a chamber, instead of getting out, the sailors inside that chamber were required to lock themselves tight in and work on the problem in order not to affect other chambers.

The sailors and their special work thrive on their mutual understanding, trust, and willingness to sacrifice for their comrades.

More surprises in store

The Tuoi Tre contributor went from one surprise to another during her stay with Submarine Brigade 189.

One of them was how the male officers and sailors managed to keep their all-white uniforms speckless and crease-free, which is quite a challenge for many housewives [thems fighten words!].

The Tuoi Tre contributor also kept pondering over why all the naval soldiers boast such flawlessly white teeth.

According to Dau Van Hoang, captain of the 184-Hai Phong Submarine, the first priority for submarine sailors is having decay-free teeth.

“Inside the submarines, where oxygen is such a scarcity for several days on end, the entire crew members stay alive on a mixture of air, of which oxygen makes up a mere 29 percent or even a lower percentage,” he explained.

“The exhaled air is always recycled to be inhaled again. If one has decaying teeth, the air would be rendered unusable,” Hoang said with a beaming smile, showing off his immaculately white teeth.

In one of the intriguing stories the Tuoi Tre contributor was told during her trip, Lieutenant Vu Van Dung, of Team 7, was prepared to get married, with his marriage date fixed.

However, he was sent to India for a task right before the wedding.

The two families decided to proceed with the wedding anyway, and Dung’s bride and her family agreed to carry out the bridal ceremony through Skype, a chatting program.

On the wedding day, the bride, the two families, their relatives, and friends celebrated the big day in Vietnam, while the groom attended the ceremony and party through Skype.

A Kilo submarine docks proudly at the Cam Ranh Military Port in Khanh Hoa Province. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Russian-made Kilo-class submarines, dubbed “black holes in the ocean” for its astonishing ability to vanish into the depth of the ocean, were built on a pilot basis during the mid-1990s. Four electric-diesel Kilo-class subs have been handed over to Vietnam. The fifth one, [HQ-186 Da Nang] left the Admiralty shipping yard in Russia on a trial run on April 1, 2015. The sixth, [HQ-187] Vung Tau, whose building began in May last year, is expected to be transferred to Vietnam [in 2016].

"

Pete

Vietnam's First Kilo Submarine Arrives

Vietnam's first Kilo submarine Hanoi about to be floated off heavy lift vessel Rolldock Sea.

------------

Vietnam's first Kilo submarine Hanoi with Cam Ranh port (naval base) in the background.

--------------

South China Sea confrontation, centered around disputed islands, with Vietnam and China being two of the major adversaries.

------------

The Vietnamese Government's Website VietNamNet, reported on January 6, 2014, that the first of six Kilo submarines has been delivered from Russia. See http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/government/93138/in-pictures--hanoi-submarine-arrives-at-cam-ranh-port.html :

"In pictures: Hanoi submarine arrives at Cam Ranh port"

VietNamNet Bridge - On January 3, Vietnam’s first Kilo-636 submarine named Hanoi ["HQ182"] entered the military port of Cam Ranh [use to be called Cam Ranh Bay during the "American War"]  in Khanh Hoa province.

Heavy lift vessel Rolldock Sea, carrying the submarine, arrived at the port on the first day of the year after a six week voyage from St Petersburg .

The submarine is scheduled to be handed over to the Vietnamese side on January 10 [2014].

The second, to be named Ho Chi Minh, is expected to arrive at Cam Ranh by March [2014].

The submarine is the first of six diesel-powered 636 Varshavyanka (kilo)-class submarines that Viet Nam bought from Russia to modernise its navy, enhancing the country's capacity to defend its territorial waters.

The other submarines are being built at Admiralty Verfi Shipyards in St. Petersburg .

The 73.8m-long submarine can operate at a maximum depth of 300 metres and at a range of 6,000-7,500 nautical miles for 45 days and nights with 52 crew members. It has the quietest engine in the world [debatable] and is the best choice for reconnaissance and patrols.

COMMENT

The agreement to sell six Kilos to Vietnam, was announced in mid December 2009. The Kilo 636 is not the world's most advanced conventional submarine (that title may go to late model HDW 214s) however the Kilo's up front price is relatively inexpensive. Vietnam's Kilos will not have AIP. Vietnam also benefits from strengthening its political, economic and strategic relationship with Russia. 

Vietnam is courting closer relations with Russia, India and the US as a counterweight to the China threat (on land and sea) to Vietnam. The asymmetric power of Vietnam's submarines will provide limited defence of Vietnam from the risk of Chinese sea-based invasion.

Vietnam is also competing with China and other nearby countries for resources under the South China Sea. Submarines provide a cheaper alternative to expensive surface ships (like aircraft carriers) for Vietnam in that competition. Vietnam has no submarine tradition outside of owning two old midget Yugo Class submarines. It will take years of Russian training to make Vietnam's submarine flotilla efficient. Russia will regain some of the naval intelligence and military power it lost when Russia withdrew from Cam Ranh Bay.

Connect with:

Vietnam's Kilo Subs Steadily Being Built By Russia, July 7, 2013 http://gentleseas.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/vietnams-kilo-subs-steadily-being-built.html and

Vietnam's Evolving Nuclear (Energy) Program (with close Russian involvement), October 12, 2013  http://gentleseas.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/vietnam-signs-ambiguous-nuclear.html 
-
Pete

Southeast Asian States Buying Submarines - Palu Naval Base

The site of Indonesia's developing Palu Naval Base in Central Sulawesi (Celebes). Significantly Palu Naval Base is close to the oil rich Ambalat sea block, claimed by Indonesia and Malaysia, just east of East Kalimantan.  

------------

In April 2013 Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Marsetio (second right), at the developing Palu Naval Base, Palu, Central Sulawesi. Indonesia's three new Chang Bogo class HDW 209 submarines and other vessels will be based at Palu.

-----------  

Australian Emeritus Professor Carl Thayer  has written an interesting article on the buildup of conventional  subs in Southeast Asia. The article, dated January 3, 2014, is at http://thediplomat.com/2014/01/southeast-asian-states-deploy-conventional-submarines/

"Southeast Asian States Deploy Conventional Submarines

Southeast Asian states continue to procure submarines for a variety of strategic goals.

On December 31, Vietnamese media reported the delivery of the first Russian Project 636 Varshavyanka-class (enhanced Kilo) conventional submarine to Cam Ranh Bay. The sub was transported from the port of St. Petersburg on the heavy lift vessel Rolldock Sea.

The submarine was accompanied by experts from Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg who will undertake final work before the formal handover ceremonies. The submarine will be named HQ 182 Hanoi. The last of the remaining five Project 636 Varshavyanka-class submarines is expected to be delivered by 2016.

In late November, during the visit of Vietnam’s party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong to India, it was announced that India would provide training for up to 500 submarines as part of its defense cooperation program with Vietnam. Training will be conducted at the Indian Navy’s modern submarine training center INS Satavahana in Visakhapatnam. The Indian Navy has operated Russian Kilo-class submarines since the mid-1980s.

The arrival of HQ 182 Hanoi provides a timely reminder that regional navies are embarking on naval modernization programs that increasingly include the acquisition of conventional submarines.

As long ago as 1967 Indonesia became one of the first Southeast Asian countries to acquire an undersea capability when it took delivery of a batch of Soviet Whiskey-class submarines. These were later replaced in 1978 by two West German diesel submarines.

In 2012 Indonesia’s Defense Ministry announced it was planning to expand its submarine fleet to twelve by 2020. Twelve is the minimum number of submarines required to cover strategic choke points or maritime entry passages into the  archipelago.

At present Indonesia has an order for three ["Chang Bogo" class] HDW 209 submarines that are being built in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in cooperation with PT PAL Indonesia. The U-209s are expected to be delivered between 2015 and 2016.

In addition, Indonesia is mulling two options. The first option is to buy and modify used Russian Kilo-class submarines. An Indonesian technical team headed by Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Marsetio will visit Russia this month to inspect the submarines and associated weaponry. It will report on the cost and feasibility of this option.

Indonesian sources report that the Kilo-option is attractive because the submarine can be armed with either the supersonic Yakhont or Klub-S cruise missiles. The latter can be fired underwater and strike surface targets up to 400 kilometers away.

Indonesia’s second option is to purchase new submarines from South Korea. This option is attractive because the new submarines are compatible with existing port infrastructure.

Press reports indicate that Indonesia’s new submarines will be berthed at the recently built Palu Naval Base in Central Sulawesi. These submarines would be able to operate in the deep waters around Indonesia’s eastern islands.

In late November Singapore announced that it had signed a contract for the purchase of two new Type 218SG conventional submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Germany. The sales contract included provisions for servicing and crew training in Germany.

Singapore’s submarines will be outfitted with the Air Independent Propulsion system and are expected to be delivered by 2020. The new submarines will replace four older Challenger-class submarines and will join the two refurbished Archer-class (formerly Swedish Västergötland-class) submarines to form Singapore’s undersea fleet.

Malaysia acquired two two Scorpène-class submarines from France following a contract signed in 2002. The two [Scorpene submarines], RMN Tunku Abdul Rahman and RMN Tun Abdul Razak  entered service in 2007 and 2009, respectively. They are based at Sepanggar, Sabah. In May 2012 Malaysia indicated that any further submarine acquisitions would depend on the availability of funding. That year Malaysia signed a contract for the purchase of a Submarine Escape and Rescue Service vessel to be built in Singapore.

In June 2013, Myanmar Army Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing entered into discussions with Russian officials for the purchase of two-Kilo class submarines. That same month it was reported that twenty officers and ratings began basic submarine familiarization and training in Pakistan at its Submarine Training Center PNS Bahadur. These two developments underscore reports that Myanmar intends to crease a submarine force by 2015.

In April 2011 Thailand entered the market for the purchase of two to six decommissioned German Type 206A diesel submarines for $220 million. Weighing in at 500 tonnes submerged displacement, they are among the world’s smallest attack submarines. A change of government in July 2011 and internal differences between the new Defense Minister and the Navy resulted in the expiration of Thailand’s options and the shelving of this project.

In October 2013 it was reported that the Royal Thai Navy will include the purchase of three submarines as part of its next ten-year procurement process. Meanwhile, Thailand has commenced construction of facilities for a submarine training center and base at the Sattahip Naval Base in Chon Buri. This base is expected to be completed in March this year and will be equipped with a Submarine Command Team Trainer.

Last year the Royal Thai Navy sent eighteen officers for a thirty-two week submarine training course in Germany and another ten officers for an eight-week training course in South Korea.

In the early years of the Aquino Administration in the Philippines, submarines were reportedly included on a Department of National Defense “wish list” for procurement under an armed forces modernization program. The acquisition of submarines appears has been quietly dropped.

Within the next five years to a decade, Southeast Asian waters, and the South China Sea in particular, will witness a marked rise in the deployment of conventional submarines by regional states. This will make the South China Sea even more congested.

The acquisition of submarine forces will add a fourth dimension to regional war-fighting capabilities – air, land, sea and sub-surface. Submarines will be able to engage in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, mine laying, anti-ship warfare and long-range strikes.

There appears to have been very little discussion by naval chiefs among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) about the implications of this development. At the most basic level, few of the ASEAN countries are equipped to assist one of their submarines in distress. Singapore and Malaysia, however, are the exceptions. In late 2008 Singapore launched the MV Swift Rescue, a submarine support vessel equipped with two Deep Search and Rescue vessels.

Singapore has been at the forefront in promoting cooperation in submarine rescue among regional navies in the event of a misadventure. Agreements have been signed with Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam."

BACKGROUND

Concerning Palu Naval Base sited close to the oil rich Ambalat sea block, off East Kalimantan, claimed by Indonesia and by Malaysia, see the 2009 article Indonesia Gets Apology From Malaysian Navy Over Latest Ambalat Flare Up at http://gentleseas.blogspot.com.au/2009/06/indonesia-gets-apology-from-malaysian.html.

-

Pete

Vietnam's Kilo Subs Steadily Being Built by Russia

A Kilo 636 Submarine of the type Russia is building for Vietnam. 

 -

Vietnam's Thanh Nien News.com reports July 05, 2013 http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20130704-vietnam-2nd-russian-made-sub-completes-sea-trials.aspx :

 
"Vietnam’s 2nd Russian-made sub completes sea trials 
 
The second Kilo-class submarine Vietnam agreed to buy from Russia has completed its sea trials and been returned to the shipyard where it was built, Russian news agency Interfax reported Tuesday.

The submarine named Ho Chi Minh City and built by Admiralty Shipyards of St. Petersburg undertook two dives, reaching a depth of 190 meters on one of them, reported Interfax.

The Ho Chi Minh City set off for its sea trials on April 28, four months after being launched.

The training of the submarine’s Vietnamese crew will take place later this month.

According to Interfax’s sources, the third of the six submarines that Vietnam ordered from Russia, named after Vietnam’s port city of Hai Phong, will be launched at the end of this year, while the remaining three are still being built.

Vietnam signed a US$2 billion deal to buy six Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Moscow in December 2009, with Russia promising to deliver all of them by 2016. As part of the deal, Russia agreed to train the Vietnamese crew and supply Vietnam with necessary equipment.

The first sub, named after Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi, was launched in August 2012. 

It underwent 23 successful dives, according to an Interfax report in May.

The first two subs are scheduled to be handed over to Vietnam later this year.

Kilo-class subs, nicknamed “Black Holes” for their ability to prevent detection, are designed to carry out anti-submarine and anti-ship missions, general reconnaissance and patrols, according to a RIA Novosti report. They are thought to be among the world’s quietest diesel-electric powered subs.

Equipped with six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes, they can travel up to 9,600 kilometers without refueling; have a displacement capacity of 2,300 tons; and can reach depths of up to 350 meters.

Vietnam has said it has purchased the Kilo-class subs and other armaments exclusively for self-defense purposes." 
 
COMMENT
 
No doubt Vietnam's new Kilo submarine service will see China as its principal adversary - particularly over South China Sea tensions.

The Kilo version Russia is building for Vietnam - the Kilo 636-MV - will also field the Klub (NATO designation "Sizzler") 3M-14E cruise missile, useful against surface ships and for land attack - see http://klipinghankam.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/vietnam-kilo-636-submarine-technology.html .
-
Pete

Tentative Vietnamese plans to buy Kilo Subs and a Russian land based reactor.

-

-

Improved Kilo Class/Project 677 Lada class/Project 1650 Amur class. Note 10 tube VLS option - something Australia should consider for its own future submarines.

-

Russia has more proposed sales of Kilo submarines than its proven capacity (typically delivered late or overprice or not at all. It is not an HDW). The agreement to sell six Kilos to Vietnam, announced in mid December 2009, is the latest paper milestone. Not only is this blog interested in nuclear enrichment and weapons but also the first and second strike platforms of choice i.e. submarines.

Vietnam has been engaged in several skirmishes over the years concerning the Spratly Islands in the South China sea. Possession of one or most of the islands has deep strategic and economic value. The islands themselves have little value, but the fishing and potential of oil reserves below them have great value. The islands are legal lodgements from which undersea zones and exploitation rights flow.

However, as Vietnam has no submarine tradition outside of owning two old midget Yugo Class submarines it will take years of expensive Russian training and control of at least the first three submarines to make Vietnam's submarine flotilla efficient and independent. Russia will regain some of the naval intelligence and military power it lost when it withdrew from Cam Ranh Bay.

Submarines are, after all are intelligence collection devices in peacetime. Essential Russian crew members and a sigint relay feed via the Vietnamese submarines to the Russian naval base at Vladivostok will be an importance asset to Russia's military presence in the western Pacific. For Vietnam submarines are an asymmetric way to counter Chinese and Taiwanese power projection into the Spratly islands. Vietnamese submarines will also provide parity with Malaysia's claims and exceed the naval power of the Filipino and Bruneian competitors.

Furthermore the asymmetric power of Vietnam's submarines will also provide limited defence of Vietnam from the risk of Chinese sea-based invasion.

DefenceStudies, December 17, 2009 reports:

MOSCOW - Vietnam and Russia signed a major arms deal and a nuclear energy agreement Dec. 15, a sign of reviving ties between Moscow and its former Soviet-era ally in Southeast Asia.

Hanoi agreed to buy Russian-made submarines and aircraft in the arms deal, which was signed in the presence of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his visiting Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Tan Dung.

"Vietnam signed a contract for the purchase of submarines, planes and military equipment with the corresponding cooperation of the Russian side," Dung said in remarks translated into Russian.

Details were not released on the deal between Russian state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport and Vietnam's defense ministry.However the Interfax news agency, citing an unnamed defense industry source, reported that Vietnam had agreed to buy six Russian-made submarines for a total price tag of about $2 billion (1.37 billion euros).

The six Kilo-class diesel-electric subs would be built for the Vietnamese navy at a rate of one per year, Interfax reported. [While Russia is supposed to have replaced new build Kilo's with the new Lada Class it appears that the "Lada Class" are now merely termed "improved Kilos".]Moscow and Hanoi also inked a deal on the construction of Vietnam's first atomic power plant.
Last month, the Vietnamese parliament approved building the country's first nuclear power station, a lucrative project that has been keenly watched by potential foreign partners.

The agreement signed in Moscow was described as a memorandum on cooperation between Vietnamese electricity company EVN and Russia's state-owned atomic energy firm Rosatom, which had been interested in the project.

"Vietnam officially invites the Russian side to cooperate in the building of the first atomic energy plant in Vietnam under adherence to the necessary conditions," Dung said.

[The Russian built reactor may be one of two 1,000 MW reactors Vietnam has planned at Phuoc Dinh in the southern Ninh Thuan province to be constructed from 2014 and come into operation from about 2020, followed by another 2000 MWe at Vinh Hai in the Ninh Hai district. These plants would be followed by a further 6000 MWe by 2030, subsequently increased to having a total of 15,000 MWe by 2030. The anticipated cost of the first two plants is about $11 billion, and some 85% of this would need to be found from overseas loans.]
-
Pete

Vietnam to build two nuclear power reactors

1st Published Wednesday, November 05, 2008

 

A 1,100 megawatt (MWe) reactor of the size preferred by Vietnam. Pictured is the inside of an ATMEA1, built be French company AREVA.

-

-

Intentions to build nuclear power reactors have been announced by Southeast Asian countries for decades. Indonesia has probably been the most vocal. The latest announcement yesterday from Vietnam may well be the most concrete to date.

UPI.com November 4, 2008 reports as follows:

"Vietnam to build new nuclear plants

HANOI, Vietnam, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade announced plans to build two nuclear power plants.

The two plants will be built in the southeastern province of Ninh Thuan and are expected to be operational sometime between 2020 and 2022, the Voice of Vietnam reported.

The announcement was made in Hanoi at an international forum on nuclear power.

Vietnam has resolved to focus on nuclear power in the face of diminishing oil reserves and increasing concern over emissions and global climate change.

An official from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Thomas Mazour, said Vietnam is in fact ready for nuclear power.

To generate nuclear power by 2020, construction will have to begin by 2015. It also usually takes between 10 and 15 years to choose and train staff, so Vietnamese leaders said work must begin right away."

Greater detail is at the Electric Light & Power website

Comments

Vietnam's announcement may well stiffen the resolve of neighbours to also build power reactors. Regional rivalry on the military, commercial and national prestige plane might exist with Thailand in particular - then Burma and Indonesia.

If Vietnam sees the reactors as a pathway to a nuclear weapons capability then the need may be in terms of self defence against China which has periodically attacked Vietnam over the centuries.

An early bet is that French nuclear company, AREVA, will win the contract to build reactors in Vietnam. France, under Sarkozy, has embarked on an aggressive reactor export drive. Vietnam has commercial links with France that have continued since colonial days. Lastly AREVA is already building reactors in Vietnam's region (in China).

Vietnam's Naval Buildup Against China - Indian and Australians Visits

[Click on Defense Industry Daily diagram to expand greatly] Improved Russian Kilo (Project 636) for Vietman - which may have sufficient improvements to be classed as a Project 677 ("Lada").

  -

Excerpts of the Financial Times June 14, 2011 which reports:

"Vietnam shift could see return of US ships"

...The historic military facility [at Cam Ranh Bay] located within one of Asia’s best natural harbours, is at the centre of a strategic push from Vietnam to counter China’s growing assertiveness over disputed waters [especially the Spratly Islands] in the commercially important South China Sea....

...Cam Ranh Bay, houses Vietnam’s small navy. The Bay extends for 20 miles north-south and is up to 10 miles wide...last year, Nguyen Tan Dung, Vietnam’s prime minister, said he would let foreign naval ships use the base again to dock, resupply and undergo repairs on a commercial basis.

The move may generate some cash once the now crumbling facilities are refurbished, security analysts say. However, the main justification for opening up the bay is to balance China’s naval dominance in the South China Sea, which encompasses key global trade routes, valuable fisheries and is thought to sit atop vast oil and gas reserves.

“Who’s going to take up the offer to visit?” says Carl Thayer, an expert on security in the South China Sea at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra. “Precisely those navies that China doesn’t want in the South China Sea, including the Americans,  South Koreans Australians, and Indians.”

One senior Asian defence official argues that the US will be keenest to take advantage of the opportunity to use the base, which offers great protection from storms and is located close to key commercial shipping lanes and the disputed [Spratly] islands. “The US has a Pacific fleet and it’s been more aggressive than many other countries in trying to build closer contacts with Vietnam to counter China’s rise,” he says.

The planned reopening of the base to foreign naval vessels is a sign of the shifting global strategic sands, with China’s inexorable rise causing concern among those such as Vietnam and the US, pushing these old enemies closer together.

Although Vietnam has developed deep economic and political ties with its larger northern neighbour since the 1990s, the relationship is coming under pressure because of China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea, according to Ian Storey, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, who studies maritime security.

China, which recently built a large naval base on Hainan island, to the north of the disputed waters, increasingly has the capability to deploy coercive diplomacy in the South China Sea, says Mr Storey. Recent incidents where Chinese maritime surveillance vessels have tried to sabotage Vietnamese oil exploration ships show Beijing also has the political will to do so.

Hanoi has responded by seeking to internationalise the territorial dispute, calling on other claimants to some of the contested Paracel and Spratly Islands – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan – to hold joint talks and attempting to bring in the US as a mediator.


Despite macroeconomic difficulties, Vietnam has boosted its spending on military hardware, agreeing to buy a number of Sukhoi SU-30 jetfighters and six Kilo-class diesel submarines from Russia.
Once delivered in the next year or two, the submarines are expected to be based at Cam Ranh Bay, which analysts say Russia has agreed to refurbish as part of the $2bn contract to supply the craft.

...changing dynamics of global security mean that, in a twist of fate, American and Russian ships may soon be back at Cam Ranh Bay, this time working alongside each other and the Vietnamese to counterbalance an ever stronger China.

BACKGROUND ON VIETNAM'S 2009 KILO PURCHASE

http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=9667 "Rosoboronexport signed a delivery contract on six Project 636M diesel electric submarines to Vietnam during visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to Russia on Dec 15, 2009. All subs will be built at Admiralteyskie Verfi shipyard in St. Petersburg; rate of delivery is one sub per year. Total contract value of submarines construction makes $2.1 bln. Considering establishment of appropriate coastal infrastructure in Vietnam, delivery of arms and other systems, total sum could reach $3.2 bln." [Vietnam's Kilos may have sufficient improvements to class them as Project 677 "Lada" Submarines.]

On the Kilo see also http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/kilo/ and
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Vietnam-Reportedly-Set-to-Buy-Russian-Kilo-Class-Subs-05396/
-
Pete