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Military power of Vietnam & China

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Vietnam vs China

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Vietnam China

Vietnam is a country located in Southeastern Asia with an area of 332,698 km2 (land boundries: 4,616 km and costline 3,444 km (excludes islands)). The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi. The number of inhabitants is 96,208,984.

The PAVN is armed largely with weapons and equipment from Russia and the former Soviet Union. Russia has remained the main supplier of newer PAVN military equipment, although in recent years Vietnam has purchased arms from more than a dozen other countries. Vietnam has a limited defense industry

More about Vietnam military

China is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 9,596,961 km2 (land boundries: 22,457 km and costline 14,500 km). The capital of China is Beijing. The number of inhabitants is 1,444,390,177.

The People's Liberation Army is the military arm of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which oversees the PLA through its Central Military Commission. The PLA is outfitted primarily with a wide mix of older and modern domestically-produced systems heavily influenced by technology derived from other countries. Russia is the main supplier military equipment outside the domestic industry.

More about China military

If you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com

Military expenditures

small flag VN
small flag CN

Military budget

+
8 billion $
408 billion $

Percent of GDP

+
1.6 %
1.7 %

Manpower

small flag VN
small flag CN

Active personnel

+
482,000
2,035,000

Reserve personnel

+
3,000,000
2,000,000

Available for military

+
30,000,000
385,821,101

Land Forces

small flag VN
small flag CN
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Tanks

+
1,829
6,100
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Armoured fighting vehicles

+
1,820
15,880
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Total artillery

+
2,000
6,890
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Self-propelled artillery

+
180
3,390
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Rocket artillery

+
450
3,000

Air Forces

small flag VN
small flag CN
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Total aircraft

+
271
5,225
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Fighter

+
11
837
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Multirole

+
35
1,498
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Attack

+
34
254
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Helicopters

+
99
1,223
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UCAV (combat drone)

+
0
160

Navy

small flag VN
small flag CN
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Total naval

+
96
762
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Aircraft carriers

+
0
6
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Destroyers

+
0
50
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Frigates

+
9
47
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Corvettes

+
14
72
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Submarines

+
6
72

Nuclear weapons

Vietnam

Does not have nuclear weapons.

China

The last of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT, which at this moment possesses approximately 280 nuclear warheads in total. Nevertheless, the number of deployed bombs is unknown. The first test that occurred to be successful occurred in 1964. The main goal of Chinese was to build a deterrent against two major nuclear powers, namely The United States as well as The Soviet Union. The nation decided to choose dried lake for the nuclear site, Lop Nur. Although China developed and tested its first atomic device only in 1964, they managed to test their first hydrogen bomb only 32 months later. As a result, they can boast with the shortest period between developing fission and fusion technology.

China managed to conduct 45 tests of nuclear weapons. Still, the data regarding the stockpile of accumulated warheads is uncertain. The same thing concerns the number of deployed warheads. It is all due to the limited information that the country provides. We should also bear in mind that they are the only country out of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT that does not give a positive security assurance.

Military service

Vietnam

18-25 years of age for male compulsory and voluntary military service; females may volunteer for active duty military service; conscription typically takes place twice annually and service obligation is 18 months (Army, Air Defense), 2 years (Navy and Air Force); 18-45 years of age (male) or 18-40 years of age (female) for Militia Force or Self Defense Force service; males may enroll in military schools at age 17.

China

18-24 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with a 2-year service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs; a recent military decision allows women in combat roles.