A Russian naval flotilla arrived this week in the hotly contested South China Sea, where several countries—including Moscow’s quasi-ally China—have overlapping territorial claims.
Newsweek has contacted Russia and China’s foreign ministries for comment.
Why It Matters
Russia maintains a steady military presence on the Pacific side of the country despite its ongoing war in Ukraine. Last October, the Russian military deployed a naval task group on an Asia-Pacific mission that included visits to several Southeast Asian nations and exercises in the South China Sea, where sovereignty disputes remain unresolved.
The arrival of the Russian navy in Vietnam comes as the United States and China jostle for influence in Southeast Asia by staging competing military drills with regional partners. The Russian presence in the South China Sea may signal Moscow’s support for China in its territorial disputes with the Philippines—backed by the U.S., its mutual defense treaty ally.
What To Know
The Russian Pacific Fleet announced on Sunday that the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, the corvette Gremyashchy and the large sea tanker Boris Butoma had arrived at the port of Da Nang in Vietnam for what the Russian Embassy called “a friendly visit.”
Representatives of the Russian and Vietnamese navies were scheduled to hold meetings, while Russian sailors would visit the city’s landmarks, the Russian Embassy said, adding that the ships would continue their Asia-Pacific deployment after concluding the port call.
The Russian naval task group departed its Far East home port in Vladivostok in early October for the deployment and was monitored by the Japanese military as it sailed close to Japan’s territory twice during its southward voyage to the South China Sea.
The port call in Vietnam comes as Hanoi, historically reliant on Russian weaponry, has deepened its security and military ties with the U.S. and China in recent years.
Last month, Nikolai Patrushev, chairman of Russia’s Maritime Board and an aide to President Vladimir Putin, met with Vietnamese Construction Minister Tran Hong Minh in Hanoi to discuss cooperation in shipbuilding, logistics and maritime infrastructure.
Patrushev said Russia was interested in building new shipyards and modernizing existing facilities in Vietnam, the official Vietnam News Agency reported. Minh said Vietnam welcomes Russian investors to explore opportunities in the country’s seaports.
What People Are Saying
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview in April: “[The U.S. and China] are also deeply divided on key geopolitical issues, especially questions of China’s territorial integrity: Taiwan, the South China Sea, the East China Sea and related territorial disputes. In all these cases, the U.S. consistently takes the side of those opposing China’s claims.”
Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said in an interview in July: “In sharp contrast with the West, Russia has a relatively benign image in Southeast Asia, isn’t perceived as a threat by any country, and people have a generally positive impression of President Putin. In some parts of Southeast Asia, Putin’s image is that of a strongman standing up to the West, and this resonates well.”
What Happens Next
The continued deployment of a naval task group to Southeast Asia is likely to bolster Russia’s so-called “diplomatic offensives” in the region by strengthening ties with regional countries at a time when it faces Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine.
