Vietnam experienced a difficult process of independence in the last century, especially during the Cold War when it became one of the few countries in a state of hot war.
After experiencing a long period of colonial rule, this country also faced the intervention of the United States.
Under the complex background of the international political environment and the dual challenges of domestic issues, the Vietnam War broke out.
Although the United States was one of the most powerful countries in the world at that time, they did not gain a clear advantage in the Vietnam War and instead fell into a quagmire.
In the end, the United States decided to withdraw its troops from Vietnam, but in this long-term war, they left behind a large number of military facilities and equipment in Vietnam.
Although the United States destroyed most confidential information and took away movable equipment as much as possible before withdrawing, it still left behind a large amount of weapons and equipment, covering all aspects of sea, land, and air, providing tremendous support for Vietnam's military power.
In addition, during the war, Vietnam also seized some American equipment, such as Dow anti tank missiles.
Vietnam utilized seized equipment and through international cooperation, such as sending anti tank missiles to China for reverse engineering, ultimately successfully developed the Red Arrow 8 anti tank missile, achieving certain military achievements.
However, despite Vietnam expanding its military size after the war and attempting to expand into neighboring countries, it appeared weak in the face of China.
China's self-defense counterattack forced Vietnam to retreat, causing heavy damage to its military strength and making it difficult to maintain independent and autonomous national defense capabilities.
Vietnam realized the seriousness of the problem and began to shift its focus to economic development, simplifying its military power, mainly relying on weapons seized from the United States.
However, although Vietnam has gained some degree of security through these weapons, over several decades, these equipment have deteriorated significantly and military strength is difficult to match its economic level.
Although Vietnam has attempted to modernize its military, such as introducing Russia's Su-27 fighter jets and S-300PMU1 air defense missile system, it has not been effectively continued thereafter.
Unlike China, Vietnam is unable to achieve reverse engineering of imported equipment, resulting in slow updates of its military equipment.
In addition, Vietnam's development in the navy is also constrained, partly due to weak foundations and partly due to the backwardness of the steel manufacturing industry.
Overall, Vietnam's economic development model and military strategy are difficult to compare with China.
Although Vietnam has attempted to develop itself through imitation, its path is still full of twists and turns.
Comments