VIETNAM BUYS 12 RUSSIAN FIGHTER JETS, AGENCY SAYS

Jakarta Forum - MOSCOW, Vietnam has signed a contract to buy 12 versatile Russian fighter jets as part of a $1 billion deal, Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday.

Vietnam is buying the Su-30 fighters, which its maker says are designed for ground attacks and dogfights in the air, at a time when disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea are increasing. Vietnam has said it views the disputes with concern.

"Last week a contract was signed for the delivery to Vietnam of 12 Su-30MK2 in 2011-2012," the news agency quoted a "military-diplomatic source" as saying.

It added that the deal, which follows three other contracts with Vietnam, includes other weapons for use in aerial warfare, plus spare parts.

The Su-30, known as "Flanker-C" to NATO, is a more formidable version of the Su-27. It made its first flight in the days of the Soviet Union but was introduced to service in post-communist Russia in 1996.

According to the aircraft maker Sukhoi, the Su-30MK2 is designed for ground attacks and "to gain air superiority through killing hostile manned and unmanned aircraft with guided missiles in medium-range engagements and dogfights".

Vietnam, China and other countries have longstanding competing claims of sovereignty over parts of the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea, including the potentially oil and gas-rich Spratly and Paracel island chains.

Previous arms deals, including the sale of six submarines, were announced when Vietnam`s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited Moscow last December, when the fighter deal also was discussed.

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