RTAF – Air Attaché Office in Hanoi
DEFENSE NEWS BULLETIN 30.September.2022
1. READOUT OF US- VIETNAM DEFENSE POLICY DIALOGUE BETWEEN ASISSTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ELY RATNER AND VIETNAM DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER SENIOR LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOANG XUAN CHIEN.
Department of Defense Spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following readout:
Assistant Secretary of Defense Dr. Ely Ratner co-chaired the 2022 U.S.-Vietnam Defense Policy Dialogue (DPD) with Vietnam Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien in Hanoi, Vietnam on September 12, 2022. The U.S.-Vietnam DPD is the highest-level forum for advancing bilateral defense cooperation.
The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership, especially in light of changing regional dynamics in the Indo-Pacific. Dr. Ratner noted that the U.S. commitment to a strong, prosperous, and independent Vietnam is enduring, and also highlighted continued U.S. support for ASEAN centrality. Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of the rules-based international order and agreed to work collectively and with like-minded partners to peacefully address and resolve disputes in the region.
The two leaders underscored the importance of practical cooperation between the United States and Vietnam. Dr. Ratner and LTG Chien highlighted the importance of collective efforts to recover remains of both U.S. and Vietnamese missing personnel, and Dr. Ratner noted the Department’s enduring commitment to dioxin remediation efforts. Dr. Ratner shared new data, collected by Harvard University, to help identify missing Vietnamese personnel. Looking forward, the two leaders agreed to focus on enhanced cooperation on defense trade, maritime security, information sharing, cyber security, and military medicine.
(By US Department of Defense)
2. VIETNAM- US DEFENSE POLICY DIALOGUE 2022 HELD IN HANOI.
The Vietnam-U.S. Defense Policy Dialogue 2022 took place on September 12 in Hanoi under the co-chair of Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Dr. Ely Ratner.
The event was also joined by the U.S. Ambassador and Defense Attaché in Vietnam, and representatives of the functional agencies of the two defense ministries.
(Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien welcomes Dr. Ely Ratner at the defense ministry’s headquarters)
At the dialogue, the two sides discussed global and regional issues of mutual concern, reviewed outcomes of the bilateral defense ties over the past time in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding on Advancing Bilateral Defense Cooperation in 2011 and the U.S.-Vietnam Joint Vision Statement on Defense Relations signed in 2015, as well as discussed preparations for activities in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam-U.S. Comprehensive Partnership (2013-2023).
| (An overview of the dialogue) |
Both sides highly valued efforts and achievements that they reached in fields of cooperation, especially in overcoming war-left aftermaths such as the dioxin detoxification at Bien Hoa Airport, supporting people with disabilities in areas heavily sprayed with Agent Orange (AO), bomb and mine clearance, and searching for remains of soldiers missing in action.
| (Delegates pose for a joint photo) |
In the coming time, the two sides agreed to continue to efficiently implement the signed agreements, focusing on setlement of war consequences, U.N. peacekeeping operations, military medical cooperation, and search and rescue missions. They also consented to continue to consult and support each other at regional forums, promote their roles as ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM) members, contributing to peace, stability and common development in the region.
(By People’s Army Newspaper)
3. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR INDO- PACIFIC SECURITY AFFAIRS DR. RATNER’S TRAVEL TO INDIA & VIETNAM.
Department of Defense Spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following statement.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Dr. Ely Ratner will depart for a trip to India and Vietnam this week to deepen the United States’ cooperation with each of these key Indo-Pacific partners.
In New Delhi, Assistant Secretary Ratner will co-chair the Sixth U.S.-India 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue as well as the Maritime Security Dialogue alongside Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu. He will also be joined on the defense side by Mr. Terry Emmert, Principal Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Mission Capabilities, Research & Engineering; Mr. Michael Vaccaro, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, Acquisition & Sustainment; Rear Admiral Tom Moninger of the Office of Naval Operations; and representatives from the United States Indo-Pacific Command.
Through these dialogues, the United States and India will advance an ambitious set of initiatives across our defense partnership ahead of the 2+2 Ministerial next year, including in support of information-sharing, logistics, technology, and high-end Navy cooperation.
From there, Assistant Secretary Ratner will travel to Hanoi to lead the U.S.-Vietnam Defense Policy Dialogue as the United States takes important steps toward expanding the breadth and depth of our comprehensive partnership with Vietnam.
Assistant Secretary Ratner’s trip reaffirms the Department’s deep commitment to working in lockstep with like-minded partners to advance our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
(By US Indo- Pacific Command)
4. VIETNAM, SOUTH KOREA KEEN ON BOOSTING DEFENSE COOPERATION.
Vietnam and South Korea agreed on the need to strengthen bilateral defense ties in various aspects during their annual senior-level defense talks in Seoul on Monday.
Vietnamese Deputy Ministry of National Defense Hoang Xuan Chien and his South Korean counterpart Shin Beom-chul led the 10th strategic defense dialogue, in which they pledged to bolster the cooperation in the arms industry, maritime security, military logistics, cybersecurity, and other areas, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported
The dialogue came as the two countries seek to promote security cooperation on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of their bilateral diplomatic relations.
The two sides also shared the need to step up cooperation in high-level exchanges, military education, and other fields to elevate the bilateral relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” according to South Korea’s defense ministry.
Shin explained South Korea’s policy toward North Korea and asked for Vietnam’s support for Seoul’s efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and achieve peace and prosperity.
The South Korean official also called for Vietnam’s support for South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southeastern port city of Busan.
Chien told his counterpart that South Korea’s handover of two decommissioned naval vessels to Vietnam during the 2017-18 period has helped the Southeast Asian country foster maritime security.
He requested support in ensuring that the delivery of another used vessel can proceed smoothly in the coming time, according to Yonhap.
In light of the international and regional situations, the two sides exchanged views on maritime and aviation security and safety and emerging non-traditional security challenges, Vietnam’s Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) newspaper reported.
Regarding the East Vietnam Sea issue, the two officials underlined that maintaining peace, stability, security, and safety of navigation and aviation in the sea area is important to all countries in the world.
They also advocated settlement of disagreements and disputes by peaceful means based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The two countries established diplomatic ties on December 22, 1992 and they upgraded their ties to a strategic cooperative partnership in 2009.
(By Tuoi Tre News)
5. VIETNAM ATTENDS 44th INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF MILITARY MEDICINE CONGRESS.
Vietnam is among the 66 military medical delegations gathering in the Belgian capital city of Brussels for the 44th International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM) World Congress held from 5 – 9 September, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.
The event – marking the ICMM’s 100th anniversary – provides Vietnam with an opportunity to share its experience in the field, said Colonel Nguyen Van Giang, Deputy Director of the Ministry of National Defence’s Department of Military Medicine, who led the Vietnamese delegation.
It is focusing its discussions on the global pressing issues, such as fighting epidemics, particularly COVID-19; future trends in surgery; battlefield emergency care; infection control; nursing; and shock resuscitation, he said.
One of the presentations sparking interest at this year’s event came from Belgium’s Queen Astrid Military Hospital. It introduced the “phage therapy” which uses bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections. It is expected to be an alternative to antibiotics when bacteria develop resistance.
The new method can help combat the rise of antibiotic resistance which is now viewed as a major global public health issue, said General Pierre Neirinckx, Deputy Secretary General of the ICMM.
Founded in Brussels in 1921, the ICMM now has 119 military medical units from different countries and territories worldwide.
(By Emirates News Agency)
6. VIETNAMESE REJECT RUSSIA’S EXPLANATION OF “TATICAL WITHDRAWAL PLAN” IN UKRAINE.
The reality is they are losing,’ says one popular Facebooker.
(Derhachi District Mayor Vyacheslav Zadorenko(C) with a group of soldiers rips a Russian flag in Kozacha Lopan, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released Sept. 12, 2022)
Many Vietnamese welcomed the news that Russian troops withdrew from northeastern Ukraine during the weekend after a hasty advance by Ukrainian forces in the six-month conflict.
Russian forces retreated from Izium in Kharkiv province on Saturday, abandoning their main bastion along with tanks and other military equipment as they fled northeastern Ukraine ahead of a quick advance by Ukrainian soldiers. Russian troops have used Izium as a logistics base for their attacks on the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledged the troop pullback from Izium and nearby Balakleya in what was called a “tactical withdrawal plan,” though Vietnamese netizens and other commentators dismissed the explanation and suggested that Russian troops were running away.
“Russian troops ran [away] so fast that Ukraine could not catch up with them,” said Facebooker Bac Si Hieu. “It’s regrettable that Russian soldiers could not bring home all the washing machines and fridges that they had ‘exploited.’”
Though Vietnam considers Russia an ally, the government of the one-party communist state has supported neither Russia nor Ukraine and has refrained from calling the conflict an “invasion” by troops at the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Vietnamese government also abstained from a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s military assault on the Eastern European nation, issued a formal call for restraint from both sides, and voted against removing Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Another Facebooker, Nguyen Trieu Vy, wrote: “Grand Uncle Tin [Putin]’s soldiers have run away from Kherson and Donbas successfully, strictly following the plan of the Special Military Operation.”
And Facebooker Oanh Vy Ly said: “Russian troops are running and are out of breath. Many netizens offered to give them the championship title at the open tournament of ‘Marathon of Withdrawal’ covering over 8,000 km. The Russian army really deserves it.”
On his Facebook profile with over 27,000 followers, writer Nguyen Thong posted the following: “The Russian fascists don’t easily accept defeat (or failure in other words), but the reality is that the battlefield is the deciding factor. And the reality is they are losing and may lose [the war] faster than many people think. Decent people are hoping Ukraine will win [the war] faster so that they can liberate their country from the brutal invaders.”
Nguyen Thong also noted that Maj. General Le Van Cuong from Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and Col. Le The Mau from the Ministry of National Defense felt bitter and upset about Russia’s defeat. “However, history is a waterfall which flushes away all rubbish,” he said.
Commenting on the latest developments in the Ukraine-Russia war, former People’s Army of Vietnam intelligence officer Vu Minh Tri told RFA: “Ukraine having won many battles in recent days is easily understandable as they possess two key factors which are: Strong fighting spirit, clever mind, and creativity; as well as state-of-the-art weapons.”
“On the contrary, the Russians have increasingly been showing that they are motley troops and politically tired. They are also equipped with less advanced or even backward weapons.”
According to the former military officer, Ukraine’s excellent intelligence work has also contributed to its victory.
He said that Ukraine had been successful in using its technical capacity to collect intelligence information about their invader, resulting in successfully attacking Russia’s key military targets, including its command posts, arsenals, docks, bridges, and equipment.
(Armored fighting vehicles abandoned by Russian soldiers are seen during a counteroffensive operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released Sept. 11, 2022. Credit: Press service of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine via Reuters)
‘Flight was quite surprising’
Facebooker Duong Quoc Chinh, who has more than 59,000 followers, told RFA that he had anticipated Russia’s defeat but was surprised by the quick developments in the battlefield and Russian troops pulling out of northeastern Ukraine.
“In general, Russia’s flight was quite surprising, quite similar to that of the Republic of Vietnam [the former South Vietnam during the Vietnam War], therefore leaving many questions,” he said. “Of course, I have anticipated this failure as Russia would lose [the war] sooner or later. However, I could not imagine they could withdraw that quickly.”
Chinh attributed the Russian army’s failure to poor morale and the mandatory conscription of some soldiers, pointing to these factors as reasons the military could not be strong, even though it is equipped with modern weapons.
He also asked whether Moscow would use its nuclear weapons against the Ukrainians: “Does Ukraine dare to attack Crimea? And if Crimea is attacked by Ukraine, will Russia use its nuclear weapons, because for the Russians, attacking Crimea is attacking Russia?”
Do The Dang, a social activist from Hanoi, also pondered whether Russia’s army would undertake action arbitrarily without anticipating any consequences.
“In general, Russia is losing,” he said. “The evidence goes beyond its withdrawal from or failing to advance on the battlefield – Russia has used guided missiles to attack civilian facilities. Their fire at civilian facilities was likely to have been caused by the confusing of intelligence information during this tense period, leading to arbitrary actions without considering consequences.”
Recalling the “bamboo diplomacy” policy of Vietnam, blogger Nguyen Thong wrote: “Those who only can express their concerns with bamboo [diplomatic] policy are so pitiable. I wonder whether they are composing letters to congratulate Ukraine on its victory or they will keep requesting that both sides exercise their constraints and sit down together for negotiation.”
The term “bamboo diplomacy” was used during the Ho Chi Minh era (1945-1969) to describe Vietnam’s policy of proactively working with foreign partners while maintaining a friendly stance and adapting to geopolitical challenges.
Thong said that on the day Ukraine claimed victory, the whole world would point to Vietnam as one of a few countries that had not dared to speak up against Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.
(Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighters put out a fire after a Russian rocket attack hit an electric power station in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sept. 11, 2022. Credit: Associated Press)
‘Their morale is plummeting’
From the coastal resort city of Nha Trang, journalist Vo Van Tao told RFA that he was pleased to hear about Ukraine’s gains, but noted that the invasion isn’t over.
“If the invading army fails, all peace-lovers will be very happy. Many online comments by Vietnamese people seem to be very optimistic, saying that the war will end in early October; i.e., before winter comes. However, I think this assessment is too optimistic.”
“Russian forces should not be underestimated, even though their morale is plummeting, and we should not forget that Ukraine was receiving a lot of financial and military support from the U.S. and other Western countries,” Trang said.
But support could be reduced if Western countries fail to deal with Moscow’s threat to cut off natural gas deliveries ahead of the coming winter, he added.
Political commentator Duong Quoc Chinh said the best ending for both Ukraine and Russia would be the overthrow of Putin by the Russian people and a bilateral peace treaty.
Others took to social media to reject assertions that Russia is losing the war.
“The news about Ukraine’s successful counterattack is 100% fake news,” Colonel Le The Mau, a military strategist and former head of the Science and Technology Information Department at Vietnam’s Defense Strategy Institute, wrote on his Facebook account in response to a reader’s question about Ukraine’s gains on the Kherson, Khakiv and Izium fronts.
(By Radio Free Asia)
THE-END