On December 1, state media reported that General Phan Van Giang directed the defensive combat exercise of Military Region 7.
It is worth mentioning that, joining Defense Minister Giang was General Nguyen Tan Cuong – Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army. Cuong is considered a backup plan in case Giang encounters obstacles. Internal sources told thoibao.de that General Giang has a serious liver disease that requires a liver transplant, and he may not be able to continue working as Defense Minister.
General Cuong is said to have been close to Giang for many years, from when Giang was still Chief of the General Staff until now. Every time Giang was promoted, he introduced Cuong as a replacement in his older position. Cuong was promoted to General at the same time as Luong Tam Quang, which is considered an agreement to divide power between Giang and General Secretary To Lam.
Military Region 9 is considered former Prime Minister Dung’s “home field” which is considered to be in accordance with Lam. The remaining Military Regions 5 and 7 are still the target of competition between Lam’s faction and Giang’s faction.
Each military region in the army is a “warlord” and factions are competing for influence to consolidate their power.
On December 3, unofficial news spread on social networks about the explosion at the National Shooting Range Area 3 (Xuan Tam Commune, Xuan Loc District, Dong Nai Province) in Military Region 7, which killed many soldiers one day earlier. This explosion is considered to have many questions.
It was not until December 4 that the state-controlled press was ordered to report on the explosion that killed 12 soldiers.
Notably, the reason given by the press was that “lightning struck” the detonator, causing the explosives to explode. However, people living nearby said that from December 1 to 4, they did not hear any thunder or see any lightning in the area. Moreover, the weather in the South was now cold, and there was no more thunder or lightning.
Thus, it can be understood that the reason “lightning struck the detonator” was a fabricated reason, created to hide the truth.
So what is the truth?
On social networks, most people do not believe that the accident was caused by lightning striking the detonator. Someone commented: “The principle is that only when the explosives are installed in position, then the detonator is placed on the explosives. So there was no lightning strike on the detonator, causing the explosion, when the engineering team was on the way to place the explosives and take a break. The Party’s propaganda fooled the people.”
Some people think that the explosion happened due to the carelessness of the soldiers. Or some people think that the soldiers’ poor skills prove that the military training of the Defense Ministry is not up to standard. In general, there are many different opinions, but few people accept the reason of “natural disaster” but all think that it was caused by humans.
In addition to the above opinions, there are also opinions that lean towards conspiracy theories, when they think that Giang and Cuong were assassinated unsuccessfully. The game of the political elite has turned the lives of soldiers into “scapegoats.”
Currently, there is no internal source confirming the assassination attempt. However, this possibility cannot be ruled out. By reasoning, we can eliminate the cause of the explosion from lightning, but we cannot confirm that this was an assassination plot.
But, whatever the reason, this explosion that killed 12 soldiers also shows the corruption and evil of the government. If the soldiers made technical mistakes, then clearly, the quality of the soldiers’ professional skills has a big problem. This is a disaster of disasters, because an army of incompetent soldiers, how can that army be powerful?
Worse, if this is really an assassination plot, it shows how deep the internal conflict is within the country’s leadership. So, how can they lead the country forward? How can they build a powerful armed force?
Thai Ha – Thoibao.de
