‘Vietnam not engage in arms race’: defence minister

The statement was made by General Thanh when he answered questions from the press on the sidelines of the National Assembly session on August 3.

Modernizing the armed forces is a common trend

Could you please elaborate on the work of building the Vietnamese military into a revolutionary, regular, elite and modern one?

Both the Vietnam People’s Army and the Vietnam People’s Police are the core forces to firmly safeguard the country’s independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, political security and social order.

In order to defend the socialist Vietnam, our army must aim to become revolutionary, regular, elite and gradually modern. Throughout this process, human development plays a decisive role, while the army should be sufficiently equipped with weapons and technical facilities in order to ensure that it is capable of fulfilling its duties.

The people’s army takes political building as its foundation, with a focus on absolute loyalty to the Party, State, people and the Party’s cause of renovation. Our military has to successfully perform its functions as an army of combat, work, and production, and to serve as a reliable and loyal political and combative force of the Party, State and people.

What branches of the military will you focus on gradually modernizing?

The orientation for this process is defined by the political platform and political report. Accordingly, we will try to modernize technology in the navy, the air defence and air force, the information and communication force, the electronic operational force, and some other technical arms.

To achieve this end, we initially need modern people with modern military knowledge and a command of high-tech weapons and equipment. The final target is to maintain peace and stability for the country’s extensive development, not to cause obstacles for other nations.

What are the major tasks of Vietnam’s defence diplomacy?

The defence diplomacy has proved effective in recent times. Vietnam has taken an active part in multilateral and bilateral defence diplomatic activities. It has maintained good ties with neighbouring countries, traditional fraternal countries, regional countries and larger countries for the sake of security in the region.

We have undertaken various practical, efficient, substantial and friendly activities with the armed forces of countries including Laos, Cambodia, China, ASEAN members, and other countries in the region. Vietnam actively participated in international conferences to present its stances on national defence policy in the spirit of being a reliable friend and partner of these countries.

On one hand, defence ties must ensure independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; on the other hand, they must keep a peaceful environment, stability, and friendship relations with countries. Good defence ties create mutual confidence and promote multifaceted ties, which facilitates the country’s development.

What about military work at sea to protect sovereignty and Vietnamese fishermen who sail or fish in Vietnam’s territorial waters?

Maintaining marine sovereignty and security is one of the political missions of the Vietnam People’s Military.

Our military has assigned the navy, marine police and border guards as the core forces in protecting our sovereignty and security at sea, including protecting fishermen who operate legally in Vietnamese waters.

The military, including the navy, must establish friendship ties with neighbouring countries such as China, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines and other nations. We also must cooperate with them in maintaining marine security and order, and treating fishermen of each country in a humane way in case they violate other countries’ territorial sea.

Improving the equipment of the military depends on the country’s economic capacity. It requires a great amount of capital to update technical arms inside the navy and the air defence and air force. This process needs to be done gradually.

We are attempting to form a submarine brigade in five or six years. But I repeat, if Vietnam buys submarines, missiles, warplanes, and other materiel, it will be purely for the purpose of self-defence and protecting peace and the fatherland’s territorial integrity.

Vietnam does not intend to engage in an arms race and the country would not do anything beyond its capabilities. The country has many other matters that need our attention, especially social security. Social stability is of prime importance.

Peace in the East Sea – a mutual interest

There are many different stances toward settling disputes in the East Sea. What is your viewpoint on this issue?

I clearly emphasized Vietnam’s position on this issue in my reception for the commanders of ASEAN countries’ navies. The issues involving bilateral disputes should be dealt with bilaterally according to international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Multilateral disputes in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) islands, which involve Vietnam, China, Taiwan (China), Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei must be handled multilaterally among the concerned parties.

China’s U-shape territorial claim ‘collides’ with many other countries and therefore must be tackled multilaterally, and not in a bilateral way.

Vietnam will solve issues involving many parties in a transparent manner, which is in line with international law and real life operations and is accepted by all parties.

What are similarities between the viewpoints of Vietnam and ASEAN in recent times?

To my knowledge, ASEAN countries share a relatively unified voice. For the first time they introduced a joint declaration at the fifth ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting held in Jakarta, Indonesia. Under the declaration, disputes in the East Sea have to be settled by peaceful means based on international law, the UNCLOS, and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC). This means negotiations through diplomatic means between ASEAN and China, not between each country.

Unity inside ASEAN plays an essential role, because the bloc is forming new security structures to handle marine security. At the 2010 Open ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting in Hanoi, we cooperated with countries to solve many matters, including security at sea.

ASEAN has to play a central role in boosting collaboration with foreign partners with the aim of maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea. Only by unifying and sharing a joint voice could ASEAN uphold its centrality.

ASEAN countries demonstrate their common worries over the recent situations in the East Sea, and all wish that they will be solved in a peaceful way for the sake of mutual benefits of countries inside and outside the region, not only Vietnam.

The East Sea has a strategic geopolitical position and boasts the second busiest maritime route in the world. Many powers like Russia and the US have economic and strategic interests in this area and are particularly concerned with the issue. The joint purpose is to keep peace and stability for the interests of all parties.

What do you think about the fact that many countries are reinforcing their naval forces recently?

I don’t think of an arms race because militaries are all responsible for protecting their respective countries. This is merely a process of equipping themselves, which is frequently found in countries, including Vietnam.

I believe ASEAN and China will eventually build a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) for settling disputes in the Sea. Once that code of conduct has been formulated, it must be strictly implemented to ensure peace and stability in the area.