【Are Koreans That Generous? Vietnam Secretly "Picked Up" a Warship, General Minister of Defense Visited Korea to Pick It Up】
Although the recent confrontation between China and the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal is tense, there are other countries around the South China Sea that are also continuously building up their maritime forces, trying to hold on to their illegal maritime interests.
Recently, Vietnam quietly "picked up" a warship without paying a penny. The Vietnamese Minister of Defense, General Phan Van Giang, personally went to South Korea to pick it up.
During his visit to South Korea, the two countries signed several agreements, with the key one being the transfer of the third Pohang-class frigate "Cheongnyang" (PCC-776) from South Korea to the Vietnamese People's Navy. This ship was decommissioned on January 3, 2022, and has been in storage for some time.
The Pohang-class is a type of light frigate built by the South Korean Navy in the 1980s. Its full load displacement is only 1,350 tons, but its speed can reach 32 knots. Main weapons include: a 76mm naval gun, a 30mm machine gun, 324mm anti-submarine torpedo tubes, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
The main role of the Pohang-class is coastal patrol, anti-submarine warfare, and coastal defense. Due to its small size, simple armament, and low cost, a total of 24 were built by the 1990s.
In the past ten years, the Pohang-class has begun to be retired in large numbers, replaced by new frigates such as the Incheon-class and Daegu-class. Considering the low operating costs of these small ships and their remaining service life, which can last for almost 10 more years, the South Korean government has given several retired Pohang-class frigates to allied countries free of charge.
Vietnam has already received three, and the Philippines also got one. In the future, these South Korean frigates will certainly frequently interact with the navy and coast guard of the southern region in the South China Sea, and even engage in confrontations.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1840334218774811/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.