Kilo Submarine: America's Newest Weapon in the South China.

摘要

The Kilo Submarine: America's Newest Weapon in the South China Sea. Recent decades have seen a boom in the number of nations acquiring submarines throughout the world. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam became the latest to join this fraternity by signing a deal in 2009 to acquire six 636M-class Kilo Submarines from Russia. China and India have also acquired Kilo-class submarines from Russia and have operated them with fairly good success. However, with the current geopolitical situation with China and with India's Navy dealing with internal issues, it is argued that they do not serve as adequate sources for assistance in building up Vietnam's juvenile submarine force. It is also argued that Russian will only provide limited training and support associated with the purchase of the submarines. To this end, the paper argues that the opportunity is prime for the United States to step in and establish relations with the Vietnamese submarine force and induce them to be our undersea partner in the South China Sea.