WORLD DEFENCE: Vietnam

Russian Arms Exporter has supplied the first batch of four Su-30MK2 fighters to Vietnam, head of the company's delegation at Paris Air Show 2011 said.

Speaking about the share of aircraft equipment in overall exports of Russian armaments, Sergei Kornev noted yesterday that it made up 43 percent in 2010.

Normally, this indicator ranges between 45 and 50 percent, and this trend will keep in the near future, Kornev said.

The largest buyers of Russian aircraft are India, Algeria and Vietnam.

According to the Rosoboronexport official, the first four Su-30MK2 fighters had been recently sent to Vietnam.

"By our return to Moscow (i.e. by June 25) they will have been assembled and tested in flight. Rosoboronexport also offers Vietnam the Yak-130 trainer, but it is up to the customer to make the decision," he noted.

Earlier reports said Vietnam had concluded two contracts with Russia to buy 20 Su-30MK2 fighters.

Souece: http://www.brahmand.com/news/Russia-supplies-1st-batch-of-Su-30MK2-fighters-to-Vietnam/7354/1/13.html

Even as Vietnam and China continue to conduct tit-for-tat naval maneuvers in the South China Sea, Hanoi has started making direct calls for foreign involvement in the two nations' maritime territorial dispute. While many commentators saw this as a thinly veiled invitation to the United States, it could also be a precursor to India establishing a permanent presence in Vietnamese waters. India has apparently responded favorably to Vietnam's offer of permanent berthing rights in Na Thrang port. The move would not only add military heft to India's "Look East" policy, but is also emblematic of a larger Indian effort to counter China's activities in South Asia.

Although Vietnam more than held its own in its 1979 border war with China, its record against the latter at sea is less impressive, as incidents in both 1974 and 1988 show. Even in 1979, Chinese naval action against Vietnam was only checked by the presence of Soviet ships. Since then the asymmetry in naval power between China and Vietnam has grown exponentially in the former's favor, while Hanoi has lost its Soviet-era security guarantees. Although Vietnam's decision to hold live naval drills in the wake of the cable-cutting incident in mid-June was seen as a show of resolve, it did little to temper ongoing Chinese surveys in disputed areas.

WORLD DEFENCE

Russia Supplies 4 Su-30MK2 Fighters To Vietnam

Vietnam, India Boost Naval Ties to Counter China

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