The trials and tribulations of the Truong Sa submarine
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) has just affirmed that it is prepared to grant a license for putting the Truong Sa sub into testing in the open sea. Prior to that, the Vietnam Register Agency, the Thai Binh provincial authorities and the Ministry of National Defence also made similar statements.
Nguyen Quoc Hoa, the inventor of Truong Sa, still has not found a sponsor who can help him bring Truong Sa to the open sea. The relevant ministries all have their own reasons for refusing to grant the license for testing Truong Sa in the sea.
Vietnamese people, becoming impatient over the obstinacy of state management agencies in licensing Truong Sa, have just directed their point of assault to MST, which, according to the Ministry of National Defense, should assume the responsibility of licensing.
However, MST Minister Nguyen Quan, during an interview given to Tien Phong newspaper, maintained that it is not MST which is responsible for the matter.
In principle, when developing a motorized vehicle, one needs to register with the Vietnam Register Agency, which supervises the design and manufacturing process, examines the vehicle and grants licenses.
In Truong Sa’s case, Hoa, due to his lack of knowledge about the law, developed his submarine in a spontaneous way and did not share information about the inventing process with the registering agency. Therefore, the Vietnam Register Agency could not grant a license to Truong Sa.
What about MST? “MST is not responsible for granting licenses to motor vehicles and transport means in general,” Quan said.
When asked why Truong Sa, a civil submarine, needs permission from the Ministry of National Defense, Quan affirmed that in Vietnam, all machines that can fly, move underground or travel underwater are within the scope of management of the Ministry of National Defence, because these relate to national security and sovereignty.
“No one can fly in the sky or dive in the sea without the control of the Ministry of National Defence. Therefore, Hoa needs to obtain permission from the ministry for the testing,” he said.
The best scenario for Truong Sa testing, according to Quan, is as follows: Hoa obtains permission from the Ministry of National Defence. After that, civil agencies organize the testing. MST may also join the testing, to be in charge of matters relating to technologies.
Quan’s assertions come contrary to a statement made by Nguyen Van Hien, Deputy Minister of National Defence, to a local newspaper that a civil agency, not the Ministry of National Defence, should take care of this matter, because Truong Sa does not serve military purposes.
Also according to Quan, MST has not received any official request of support from Hoa. However, if MST receives such a request, it would still have to confer with relevant ministries.
“In principle, the testing in the sea must be approved by the National Defence and the local management agencies. As it will be necessary to arrange a rescue team, MST alone is not fully competent in the case,” Quan maintained.
