Vietnam outlines defence policy for first time
HANOI - Vietnam has offered a rare glimpse into its traditionally
secretive military mindset with the publication of
its first White Paper on defence.
The 33-page document, entitled ``Vietnam --
Consolidating National Defence, Safeguarding
the Homeland'' was thin on specifics and devoid
of statistics but stressed the military's
subservience to the ruling communist party.
``For Vietnam, the most fundamental principle
is to ensure and strengthen the absolute, direct
and overall leadership of the Communist Party
of Vietnam over the People's Armed Forces,''
the Paper said.
``Vietnam counters all designs and attempts by
the hostile forces which seek to 'de-politicise'
our armed forces.''
It did not specify who or what the hostile forces
were.
The White Paper, a copy of which was
obtained by Reuters, will be presented to the
ASEAN Regional Forum ministerial conference
in Manila later this month in a bid to bolster
security dialogue, a military analyst said.
The forum comprises the nine member-states of
the Association of South East Asian Nations
plus the United States, China, Japan, Russia,
India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the
rotating chair country of the European Union.
The paper said relations in Southeast Asia had
improved but there were still potential
flashpoints.
``There still reside potentially destabilising
situations, among them the disputes in the East
Sea of Vietnam (South China Sea) which
contains a latent danger of conflict,'' it said.
It was referring to territorial disputes among
regional countries over the Spratly and Paracel
archipelagos.
Vietnam's army grew from humble guerrilla
beginnings when it fought occupying Japanese
troops from remote jungle hideouts in the late
stages of World War Two to a solid force that
defeated French colonial forces at Dien Bien
Phu in 1954.
It came of age during the Vietnam War when
as a fully equipped modern fighting force it
defeated U.S. troops. In December 1978,
Vietnam invaded Cambodia to oust Pol Pot
and his genocidal Khmer Rouge regime and
then beat back an invading Chinese army in a
bloody border war in 1979.
In the 1980s Vietnam's army, with around 1.2
million standing troops, was among the largest in
the world.
The White Paper said Vietnam was committed
to principles of non-alignment and nuclear
non-proliferation but reserved the right to build
its armed forces.
``Vietnam has the legitimate right to build
military strength and build an army provided
with even better weapons, equipment and
techniques,'' the Paper said.
It bemoaned a shortage of funds.
``In spite of low per capita income, the limited
state budget, the very small share of the defence
budget, and the far from strong defence industry
of Vietnam, our all-people's national defence
has still made firm steps forward,'' the Paper
said.
Defence expenditure is secret, but most guesses
put it at around 24 percent of the national
budget with a value of $435.2 million in 1994
and $554 million in 1995, Jane's World Armies
said in late 1997.
Vietnam has made few purchases of new
weapons and defence systems in the last
decade.
In 1995, it bought six Russian-built Sukhoi
Su27 fighters for around $150 million and in
January last year signed another contract worth
around $180 million for six more of the planes
together with spare parts.
The White Paper confirmed sweeping cuts in
the numbers of active service personnel, but
said the country retained full war capability.
``Vietnam has greatly reduced active troops in
peacetime and built reserve forces for
mobilisation,'' it said.
``The Vietnamese Army has full capabilities to
fight under all war circumstances; and...has now
a strong fire power and crack capabilities,'' it
added.
Jane's estimated that Vietnam's armed forces
numbered around 658,000 -- including the
army, airforce and navy -- and that the country
had reserve forces of 4-5 million.
By Andy Soloman - REUTERS, July 1, 1998.
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