KHÁNH HÒA – Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attended a flag-raising ceremony on the navy’s two new Kilo-class submarines in the south central coastal province of Khánh Hòa yesterday.

The submarines, named the HQ-186 Đà Nẵng and HQ-187 Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, are among the six submarines that Việt Nam purchased from Russia as part of a 2009 contract--and the last vessels to be delivered.

On behalf of the Government, Prime Minister Phúc said the Navy’s purchase of top-tier modern diesel-fueled submarines is part of the strategic vision of the Party and State to strengthen the national defence at sea and increase naval capacity.

The PM instructed the Việt Nam People’s Navy to seriously implement the Party and State’s guidelines on addressing disputes in the East Sea, stating that Việt Nam consistently and clearly asserts its sovereignty over Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

“With goodwill and efforts, we will resolutely and persistently settle any disputes in the East Sea via peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and Vietnam’s Law of the Sea 2012, while continuing to work for a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), ensuring that the East Sea is an area of peace, stability, friendship and development, for the interests and security of all nations in the region and around the word,” he said.

The PM reiterated Việt Nam’s policy of peace and self-defence, noting that the modernisation of military, including the development of a modern submarine fleet, is normal for a marine country.

The move is not an arms race and does not aim at any nations, but aims only to firmly safeguard the national sovereignty over seas, islands, and continental shelf in any circumstances, he stressed.

With a displacement of 3,000-3,950 tonnes, the nearly 74m-long submarine can operate at a maximum depth of 300 meters and a range of 6,000-7,500 nautical miles for 45 days with 52 crew members.--VNS