The United Nations supports Vietnam in deploying the Engineering Team to participate in peacekeeping operations.
The registration of the Vietnam Engineering Corps into the United Nations' readiness system has been completed, with an expected strength of 268 personnel.
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| Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh chaired the meeting. Photo MOD |
On the morning of December 18, in Hanoi, the Ministry of National Defense held a meeting of the Ministry of National Defense Steering Committee on participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations (UNPKO) to review the overall preparation work and resolve difficulties and problems of the Engineering Team participating in UNPKO.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, member of the Party Central Committee, member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of National Defense, Head of the Inter-sectoral Working Group on Vietnam's participation in UN peacekeeping operations, Head of the Ministry of National Defense's Steering Committee on the Army's participation in UN peacekeeping operations chaired the meeting. Attending the meeting were members of the Ministry of National Defense's Steering Committee on the Army's participation in UN peacekeeping operations.
According to VNA, implementing the Project on the Army participating in UN peacekeeping operations in the 2014-2020 period and the following years, the Ministry of National Defense has deployed 29 individual officers and 1 Level 2 Field Hospital No. 1 to the South Sudan Mission and the Central African Republic; at the same time, actively preparing the Engineering Team to deploy to the appropriate UN peacekeeping mission when requested.
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| Officers and soldiers of Level 2 Field Hospital No. 1 depart to join the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Republic of South Sudan. Photo: Vietnamnet.vn |
The Politburo has agreed in principle to allow the Ministry of National Defense to deploy the Engineering Corps to participate in UN peacekeeping operations. On that basis, the Minister of National Defense has agreed in principle to send the Engineering Corps to replace the UK Engineering Corps in 2020.
Currently, the registration of the capacity of the Vietnamese Engineer Team into the PCRS system (Capacity Readiness System) of the United Nations has been completed. The staffing chart of the Engineer Team participating in UN peacekeeping operations under the Engineer Command, with an expected number of 268 people, the equipment list is built based on the document "Capacity requirements of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan in November 2017 (UNMISS SUR-2017)" and the actual needs and capacity of Vietnam.
The United Nations is reviewing the capability profile of the Vietnamese Engineering Corps. Accordingly, the United Nations has requested Vietnam to meet a number of requirements in the process of developing a list of key equipment and self-sustaining equipment, which will serve as a basis for the United Nations to organize a pre-deployment inspection team expected to be around mid-2019.
Regarding training, Colonel Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, said that the Department has chaired and coordinated the organization of pre-deployment training courses for UN peacekeeping operations, and English and French language courses for the Engineering Team.
Vietnam is negotiating with the United Nations and the United Kingdom to send an Engineering Team to replace the British Engineering Team at the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan around February 2020 - when the British Engineering Team ends its term and withdraws from the South Sudan Mission.
There are currently five candidates to fill this position, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam, which have been approved by the United Nations at level 1, China, and Croatia, which have an Engineering Team but have not yet registered. The United Nations has expressed support for Vietnam to be deployed to this position if Vietnam fully meets the United Nations' criteria and requirements regarding capacity, personnel, and equipment.
According to Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, to successfully deploy the Engineering Corps to replace the British Engineering Corps in South Sudan in early 2020, there are still many tasks that need to be coordinated and implemented synchronously; however, the biggest difficulty and obstacle is the issue of existing equipment and the procurement of equipment that meets the quality and time criteria required by the United Nations.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh requested the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, the Engineering Command, the Military Forces Department... to coordinate with relevant units and agencies to unify the procurement and fully equip the Engineering Team, carry out the procurement to keep up with the deployment schedule; at the same time, promptly issue the Organization and Equipment Table of the Vietnam Engineering Team (according to the SUR-2017 document), especially to serve the United Nations in inspecting, evaluating and approving Vietnam to deploy the Engineering Team, then officially organize the launch and focus on training around June 2019.
The Engineering Command is responsible for preparing accommodation and training locations. The Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, in coordination with the Foreign Affairs Department, conducted a survey in South Sudan and requested South Korea, France, and the UK to receive Vietnamese delegations for professional training.
Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh also assigned the Finance Department and the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department to promptly synthesize and prepare budget for purchasing equipment, technical logistics, pre-deployment training, and transportation and deployment in the area.