Naval High Command receives the first submarine Deputy Minister of Defense and Navy Command Admiral Nguyen Van Hien hosted a ceremony on January 15, to receive the HQ 182-Hanoi submarine at Cam Ranh port in Khanh Hoa province. It is the first of six diesel-powered 636 Varshavyanka (kilo)-class submarines Vietnam has purchased from Russia, to enhance its navy’s capacity for safeguarding the country’s territorial waters. The acquisition of such a submarine is part of the government plans to build an elite people’s army to meet higher requirements for national construction and protection. Addressing the hand-over ceremony, Admiral Hien called for officers and sailors’ efforts to master hi-tech equipment and fully utilize the submarine, whilst at the same time implementing political firmness and moral standards to fulfill all assigned tasks.     Admiral Nguyen Van Hien, a member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of Defense--Navy Commander, assigns missions to the captain of the HQ-182 Hanoi Submarine.   Hien presents the national flag to staff of the submariner.   Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Quan, Captain and Lieutenant Colonel Pham Quang Hoan, Commissar of the submarine hoist a flag on the control tower.   The national flag and the Navy flag fly on the control tower of the HQ-182 Hanoi Submarine. This is the first important step in the process of building and developing modern submarine forces of the Vietnam Navy, with the mission to build and defend the sovereignty of the country in the new period.    Source: QDND/NLD