Hundreds of warships of the People's Liberation Army are in readiness, and the United States claims that Vietnam is facing a disaster (Photo)

Hundreds of warships of the People's Liberation Army are in readiness, and the United States claims that Vietnam is facing a disaster (Photo) Video screenshot: Vietnam...

Video screenshot: Vietnam holds a live-fire exercise in the South China Sea.

A well-known American maritime expert network published an article on the 17th, saying that if China and Vietnam start a war over the conflict in the South China Sea, Vietnam will undoubtedly lose. Although the combat methods may still follow traditional tactics, the construction of the Chinese navy in recent years has far exceeded that of the military. Currently, the Chinese Navy has 63 submarines, including 6 nuclear submarines; 26 destroyers, 56 frigates, 172 missile boats, 427 submarine hunting ships, 41 minelayers, and a large number of troop carriers and landing craft. Vietnam, on the other hand, has only about 120 warships.

The Nansha Islands are the islands farthest from mainland China and with the most islands and reefs among the South China Sea islands. Their land area is less than two square miles and they are scattered in an area of ​​165,000 square miles. Countries and regions including China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and the Philippines all claim sovereignty over the archipelago, and small military outposts are stationed on some of the atolls.

Before, there were only a few fishing villages and nothing else. The most important thing for fishermen is not to hit the island by mistake. That didn't change until oil and natural gas were discovered here.

Video screenshot: Chinese naval exercise.

Natural resources make the Spratly Islands more attractive, and almost every once in a while, a country accuses another country of violating its sovereignty. Recently, the situation between China and Vietnam has been unprecedentedly tense. There are reports that Chinese warships opened fire on Vietnamese fishing boats operating in the waters of the South China Sea. Vietnam has also accused Chinese ships of cutting the cables of a Vietnamese survey ship.

Recently, Vietnam conducted a live-fire exercise in the Nansha Islands. This behavior was criticized by China. Since then, the media in China and Vietnam have always taken a nationalist stance and incited the patriotism of the people.

However, it is unlikely that a war will break out between China and Vietnam. The last war between the two neighbors was the border war in 1979. But if a war does break out between the two countries, it will probably be a naval war in the traditional sense, although more sophisticated weapons will be used.

Unfortunately for Vietnam, however, the Chinese Navy is far ahead of the Vietnamese Navy. Currently, the Chinese Navy has 63 submarines, including 6 nuclear submarines; 26 destroyers, 56 frigates, 172 missile boats, 427 submarine hunting ships, 41 minelayers, and a large number of troop carriers and landing craft.

Vietnam only has about 120 warships, but it is spending huge sums of money to upgrade its ship capabilities. Moreover, Vietnam also plans to purchase six Russian-made "Kilo" attack submarines to fundamentally enhance its attack capabilities, but these submarines still need to be built.

In addition, Vietnam also has hundreds of small warships and gunboats, but its overall naval capabilities are more suitable for coastal defense.

It is still unclear whether the logistics capabilities of both sides can support the launch of a large-scale battle. Moreover, if Vietnam engages in naval hand-to-hand combat with China, it is doomed to fail.

Either way, war is a disaster for the region, the global economy, and those unfortunate enough to fight.

We hope that both sides will remain rational, work hard to eliminate differences over Taiping Island, and avoid an offshore naval war.