Vietnam is negotiating with Israel to buy the Barak 8 air defense system for half a billion dollars and will send a high-level delegation from the Ministry of Defense to Israel next month to negotiate this purchase contract.
Israel’s Haaretz news site on August 18 said that the Vietnamese side is currently interested in the Barak 8 air defense system of IAI, while another Israeli firm, Rafael, has also recently been negotiating with the Vietnamese side to persuade Hanoi to buy three Spyder air defense systems from this company. However, Hanoi was not very comfortable with Rafael and decided to give priority to IAI.
IAI’s Barak 8 is designed to protect against a wide range of threats, from fighter jets, helicopters, drones, and cruise missiles to anti-ship missiles. The air defense system, jointly produced by Israel and India, can be deployed on land or at sea.
Vietnam has increased its defense equipment in recent years, especially when there are threats from disputes in the South China Sea (Vietnam calls it the East Sea) with China.
In addition to supplying weapons mainly from Russia, Vietnam also buys weapons from Israel. Israel’s Ministry of Defense does not disclose specific information on arms sales to each country, but sources of information obtained by Haaretz newspaper show that in the past decade, Israel has sold Vietnam weapons worth $1.5 billion.
However, the sale of Israeli weapons to Vietnam is currently facing some difficulties after Hanoi on April 29 decided to prosecute Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, a person believed to be an intermediary for trade between the two countries.
Ms. Nhan – former Chairman of the Board of Directors cum General Director of AIC Company (AIC Progressive International Joint Stock Company) – is currently facing two charges of violating regulations on bidding in supply contracts of medical equipment to two hospitals, Dong Nai General Hospital and Quang Ninh Obstetrics and Children’s Hospital.
According to Haaretz, Ms. Nhan is an important figure and broker in a series of deals to sell weapons and equipment for the Vietnamese police over the past 10 years.
According to Israel Defense, Ms. Nhan is an intermediary connecting the IAI company with the Vietnamese side in the Ofek (also known as Horizon) intelligence satellite equipment contract worth about $550 million.
According to Intelligentonline of France, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong decided to choose this device of IAI. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is primarily responsible for the project, discussed it by phone with his Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett afterward.
On June 2, the defense ministries of the two countries held the second Defense Dialogue. Accordingly, the two sides pledged to strengthen cooperation in the field of the defense industry, training and overcoming the consequences of war; maintaining cooperation and information exchange between the two defense ministries.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
