Vietnam has outlined a series of plans for strengthening the military in the 2018-2025 period with the establishment of an armament manufacturing and repair corporation, heard at a press conference held by the Ministry of Defense in Hanoi earlier this week. 
A Kilo-class submarine of Vietnam's navy. Photo: Vostock
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In the army structure, the corporation will belong to the General Corporation of Defense Industry which has a workforce of 25,000 people.
Vietnam has several weapon manufacturing factories under the Ministry of Defense. The Southeast Asian country also signed different contracts to buy weapons abroad, including one worth US$2 billion to purchase a fleet of six Kilo class submarines from Russia.
In 2012, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin affirmed to tighten cooperation with Vietnam in study, manufacturing, and maintenance of military equipment and weaponry. In return, Vietnam affirmed to allow Russia to set up a vessel maintenance depot in Vietnam’s Cam Ranh military base.
In May 2016, US President Barack Obama announced the full removal of the embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam.
So far, Vietnam’s military spending remains nonpublished except for several deals inked with big partners like Russia.
