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Vietnam and Russia are in the final stages of negotiation for the sale of two Gepard-3.9 class (Project 11661) light stealth frigates. The Vietnam People's Navy is also considering the procurement of 4 more Tarantul-class (Project 1241.8). Vietnames People's Navy Gepard 3.9 class (Project 1166.1E) Frigate (picture: Zelenodolsk) Vietnam already has two Russian-made Gepard 3.9 class light frigates, with two more currently undergoing final systems outfitting. The extra procurement of two more frigates would bring the total inventory to 6 vessels of this class in the Vietnam People's Navy fleet. According to its builder, Zelenodolsk shipyard, the Vietnamese Gepard 3.9...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry does not agree with the Marine Corps general nominated to be America's next top uniformed commander that Russia poses an existential threat to the United States, a spokesman said. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Kerry did not share the assessment, even though Russia's actions in Ukraine posed regional security challenges. "The secretary doesn't agree with the assessment that Russia is an existential threat to the United States, nor China, quite frankly," Toner told a regular news briefing. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Thursday that the administration was mindful of Russia's...

WASHINGTON --President Obama said Tuesday that despite differences between the United States and Vietnam over "political philosophy," the two countries are deepening cooperation on health, climate and other issues. Obama spoke following an Oval Office meeting with Nguyen Phu Trong, the head of Vietnam's Communist Party. Trong is the de facto leader of Vietnam despite holding no official government post.

Republican presidential aspirant Bobby Jindal has sought steps by the United States to take the mantel of global leadership saying even non-aligned nations like India and Vietnam are desperate and hungry for American leadership. Trashing the foreign policy of the Obama Administration, Jindal, told the Fox News, “We would work not only with our allies, like Japan and South Korea and Taiwan. We'd work with non-aligned countries like India and Vietnam that are desperate and hungry for American leadership." Jindal, who last month announced his bid for the 2016 presidential elections, was responding to questions on addressing the challenges being...

The powerful head of Vietnam’s Communist Party will travel to the United States for the first time next week, and said he expects President Barack Obama will visit Vietnam later this year. Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said he hopes to build trust and create more opportunities to improve relations. Trong’s visit comes as the former battlefield foes mark the 20th anniversary of normalized diplomatic ties. The White House said Trong would arrive on July 7, and the leaders would discuss trade, human rights and defense cooperation. It did not confirm a visit by Obama to Vietnam, which would...

When Sergeant Major Michael Jarnevic finally retires from the Army on July 8, it will be the end of a career that began in 1973 when he enlisted as a Marine and was deployed to Vietnam. He is now nearing his 60th birthday and has spent three quarters of his life fighting for his country. In fact, Sgt Major Jarnevic appears to be the last Vietnam veteran on active duty in the whole of the Army. During his 42 years of service he has served in Honduras during the Contra wars in the 80s and Kuwait in the 90s during...

China has vowed to never back down from its aggressive territorial expansion into the South China Sea because it would shame their ancestors. What their ancestors would say about angering all their neighbors by building fake islands in the middle of the ocean is still unknown. China is locked in territorial conflicts with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia over what amounts to $5 trillion dollars a year in shipping lanes. And sharing does not seem to be an option.

WASHINGTON, DC – The leaders of the United States Congress will hold a ceremony next month to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, July 8 at 3:00 pm in Emancipation Hall of the United States Capitol Visitor Center. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will take part in the event. More than 58,000 Americans were killed in action during the Vietnam War, and more than 153,000 were wounded. All told, 658 U.S. prisoners...

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Penn.) expressed surprise that the U.S. State Department describes Vietnam as an “authoritarian state” ruled by the Communist Party when asked by CNSNews.com on Thursday whether the United States should form a free-trade zone with a Communist regime under the umbrella of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that the Obama administration is now negotiating with Vietnam and 10 other countries. […] Rep. Kelly responded: “Are you saying the State Department’s saying this?” CNSNews.com answered: “The State Department says that Vietnam is an authoritarian state under Communist rule.” Kelly then said: “So this is part of an executive agency,...

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told CNSNews.com on Thursday the United States should “definitely form a trade agreement” with Vietnam, which is an authoritarian state governed by a communist regime. […] On Thursday on Capitol Hill, CNSNews.com asked Foreign Relations Chairman Corker: “The State Department says that Vietnam is ‘an authoritarian state’ that is ruled by the Communist Party. But it’s part of President Obama’s proposed trade partnership. Should America form a free trade zone with a communist regime?” Corker responded: “We definitely should form a trade agreement with Vietnam. I don’t know about all the other adjectives...

John KerryVerified account ‏@JohnKerry Feeling good a week after surgery. Good chats today w/@AmbassadorRice & @StateDept senior team. The work continues!

A rare and elusive rabbit has been found, held and photographed by a researcher from the University of East Anglia (UEA). The Annamite Striped rabbit, found in the forests of Laos and Vietnam, was first documented by rabbit expert Dr Diana Bell and colleagues from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences in the journal Nature in 1999. It has rarely been seen since. Researcher Sarah Woodfin, who is studying for a Masters in Applied Ecology and Conservation at UEA, set out on a three-month expedition to track the recently-discovered rabbit and study its habitat. But she didn’t expect to see one...

SINGAPORE: Vietnam is in talks with European and US contractors to buy fighter jets, maritime patrol planes and unarmed drones, sources said, as it looks to beef up its aerial defences in the face of China's growing assertiveness in disputed waters. The battle-hardened country has already taken possession of three Russian-built Kilo-attack submarines and has three more on order as part of a $2.6 billion deal agreed in 2009. Upgrading its air force would give Vietnam one of the most potent militaries in Southeast Asia. The previously unreported aircraft discussions have involved Swedish defence contractor Saab , European consortium Eurofighter,...

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam took delivery of two new missile boats on Tuesday made locally and modeled on Russian vessels, the latest move by its military to strengthen maritime defenses as tensions simmer over sovereignty in the South China Sea. The two Tarantul-class corvettes, known as Molniyas, are equipped with 16 missiles and automatic weapons and are among six ordered by the navy, two of which were delivered last year. The missiles have a range of 130 kilometers. The announcement was carried on the Vietnamese government's news website and comes amid diplomatic rumblings over land reclamation work by rival claimants...

Sex-selection abortions are an international problem — and the horrendous phenomenon is no more prevalent anywhere than in southeast Asia. There in nations like China and India, girl unborn babies are routinely aborted because cultural mores favor boys over girls. Vietnam, tragically, is no exception. And it is there, in that formerly war-tor nation, where a wife kowtowed to the pressures of her husband and had 18 abortions of girl babies because he wanted a son. Finally, when she was pregnant with a boy, abortion wasn’t an option. Sex-selection abortions in Vietnam have skewed the male-female gender ratio. According to...

Diplomatic tensions surrounding disputed territories in the South China Sea could escalate dramatically following reports China is now putting weapons on its artificial islands in the area. Australia’s defence force is considering joining the U.S. in flying and sailing “freedom of navigation” missions over the disputed territory, where China has been building islands by dragging sand from a reef and piling it up to create structures now being monitored by satellites. Fairfax Media reports the Australian fly-over expeditions may occur as a result of heightened concerns that China is enhancing its military capabilities and reach across the maritime expanse.

US Republican Senator John McCain has called for the gradual removal of the country's lethal arms embargo on Vietnam "as soon as possible". Senator McCain made the remarks on Saturday (May 30) on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, arguing that Vietnam needs to be given the means to further deter "assertive behaviour" by Beijing in the South China Sea. "We'd like to see them have great capability, particularly with weapons that are defensive in nature, that could be used in the case of a crisis situation between Vietnam and China," he said.

The power vacuum created by the Obama administration’s withdrawal from world leadership and resistance to tyranny is not only being filled by the Islamic State and its terrorist affiliates like Boko Haram and state sponsors of terror like soon-to-be nuclear Iran but also by an increasingly belligerent and resurgent China. China’s State Council, the Communist giant’s version of our cabinet, has issued a policy paper declaring that Beijing is facing “a grave and complex array of security threats” that forces it to switch its strategy from defense to offense and that as a result China will increase its “open seas...

NDO/VNA - Vietnam and India signed a joint vision statement on bilateral defence relations in the 2015-2020 period following talks between Minister of National Defence Phung Quang Thanh and his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar in New Delhi on May 25. The two ministers also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on coordination between the Vietnamese and Indian coast guards to prevent transnational crime. During their talks, held during Minister Phung Quang Thanh’s visit to India, the two ministers agreed that defence cooperation continues to be one of the key pillars in the strategic partnership between Vietnam and India....

High-ranking officials of Vietnam and Singapore have agreed to strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries in line with their strategic partnership. The agreement was made during the talks between Chief of the Singaporean Air Force Major General Hoo Cher Mou and Vietnam’s Air Defense and Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Phuong Minh Hoa, who paid a visit to the island country from May 13-15, according to the Vietnam News Agency. During their Thursday talk, the two sides agreed to boost defense cooperation to create a model for air force coordination among ASEAN members. Both host and guest pledged to...