Contaminated by: cluster munition remnants (massive contamination, extent unknown), landmines (extent of contamination unknown), and other unexploded ordnance (UXO). 

Non-signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty 

Non-signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

The extent of cluster munition and mine contamination is unknown. Most clearance of cluster munition remnants is conducted by the Army Engineering Corps, which did not provide data for 2015. Survey and clearance of cluster munition remnants by international operators increased in 2015 with 13.27km² of hazardous area confirmed, 0.085km² of suspected hazardous area (SHA) canceled, and 9.83km² of hazardous area cleared, resulting in the destruction of 7,946 submunitions. BOMICEN-managed demining teams continued to operate in Cao Bang and Lang Son provinces in 2015 and cleared 1km², but gave no details of what items were destroyed.

Recommendations for action 

• The Socialist Republic of Vietnam should prepare a multi-year clearance plan, including prioritization criteria and the application of efficient survey methodology.
• Vietnam should accelerate development of a national database and make data available to operators on a timely basis.
• Vietnam should publish comprehensive annual reports on the results of survey and clearance by all operators, national and international.

Cluster Munition Contamination

Vietnam is massively contaminated by cluster munition remnants, but no credible estimate exists of the extent (to the nearest hundred square kilometer). The United States (US) dropped 413,130 tons of submunitions over Vietnam between 1965 and 1973, striking 55 provinces and cities, including Haiphong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, and Vinh. Vietnam’s Military Engineering Command has recorded finding 15 types of US-made submunitions.[1] Most submunition types used by the US were air-dropped, but artillery-delivered submunitions were also used in central Quang Binh and provinces to the south of it.[2]

The Military Engineering Command says it has encountered substantial amounts of cluster munitions abandoned by the US military, notably at or around old US air bases, including eight underground bunkers found in 2009, one of them reportedly covering an area of 4,000m2 and containing some 25 tons of munitions.[3]

Mine Contamination

Vietnam’s mine problem is small compared with its explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination, but the extent is unknown. Most mines were left by conflicts in the 1970s with neighboring Cambodia and China, and affect areas close to its borders with those countries.[4] Some mines have also been found around former US military installations.[5] 

Vietnam cleared an area up to 1km deep along its northern border under an agreement with China, but areas further inland from the border are still contaminated with mines emplaced by the military of both countries. Since 2004, military engineers have reportedly cleared around 95km² of contaminated land in the northern provinces of Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Lang Son, and Quang Ninh bordering China under a project known as “Programme 120,” destroying mainly Type 72, K58, and PPM-2 antipersonnel mines.[6]

Cambodian border areas were affected by randomly placed mines reflecting the more irregular nature of the fighting there,[7] but Engineering Command reported in 2013 that the problem had been eliminated.[8] Many ports and river deltas were mined extensively during the war and were not completely cleared when it ended and some sea mines have been found on the coast.[9]

Program Management

Vietnam’s mine action program has shifted from military management to civilian oversight but operations continue to depend largely on the armed forces. In 2013, Vietnam announced a Prime Minister’s decision to establish a national mine action center (VNMAC) to strengthen the direction of mine action and provide a focal point for mine action operations.[10] However, although VNMAC reports to the Prime Minister’s office, the decision assigned responsibility for managing and coordinating the national mine action program to the Ministry of Defense. VNMAC was given the responsibility to propose policy, draw up plans, serve as the focal point for international cooperation, lead fundraising, and “preside over” mine action information management. It is also responsible for organizing and implementing quality assurance.[11] The government appointed VNMAC’s director and two deputy directors in 2014 and the center became officially operational in February 2015.[12] Prior to this, a Prime Minister’s Decision in 2006 assigned the Ministry of National Defense to oversee mine action at the national level with clearance undertaken by the Army Engineering Corps of the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN).[13] BOMICEN, part of the Ministry of National Defense, had acted as a central coordinating body for clearance and survey by national operators.[14] 

International operators conclude agreements to work in Vietnam with the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee but negotiate their program of operations separately with the authorities of each province.

Quang Tri province, which includes the former demilitarized zone that separated North and South Vietnam and is one of the most heavily contaminated regions, approved the creation of a Legacy of War Coordination Centre (LWCC) in February 2015. The LWCC, provided by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), is responsible for drawing up an annual workplan, coordinating operations of NPA and Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and operates a database integrating mine action data of all operators, including the results of NPA’s and MAG’s integrated survey and clearance operations.[15]

Strategic planning 

VNMAC reported that priorities for 2015−2016 included drafting and issuing a decree on mine action, fundraising for VNMAC’s headquarters, developing a national database, conducting mine action programs in Ha Tinh province using Japanese funding, and developing and implementing mine action in Vietnam’s most contaminated provinces.[16]

Operators 

Most clearance in Vietnam is conducted by the Army Engineering Corps, whose officials have previously reported operating some 250 mine and battle area clearance (BAC) teams, including those of around 50 military companies.[17] Four international humanitarian operators active in Vietnam in 2015 included, Danish Demining Group (DDG), MAG, NPA, and PeaceTrees Vietnam.

Land Release (Cluster Munition Remnants) 

No results for 2015 were available for operations by VNMAC and the Army Engineering Corps, which account for most clearance.

Survey and clearance of cluster munition contamination by international operators accelerated in 2015, with 13.27km² of hazardous area confirmed, 0.085km² of SHA canceled, and 9.83km² of hazardous area cleared.

Survey in 2015 (cluster munition remnants) 

In 2015, survey in Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, and Quang Binh provinces confirmed 13.27km² of cluster munition contamination across 410 areas (see table below).

After a pilot project in 2014, Quang Tri provincial authorities approved a project under which NPA concentrated on conducting its cluster munition remnants survey (CMRS) while MAG cleared the confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) generated by NPA’s survey. The project aims to complete clearance of all the province’s main contaminated areas by 2020. Both operators expanded capacity supported by multi-year funding from the US. NPA, partnering Project Renew, had a total operations staff of 152, which included 21 CMRS teams, five explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams, and one 10-strong team of “BAC searchers.”[18]

MAG also operated in the neighboring province of Quang Binh conducting non-technical and technical survey as well as clearance, working from evidence points established during spot EOD tasks.[19]

Cluster munitions survey in 2015[20]

Clearance in 2015 (cluster munition remnants) 

Vietnam’s Army Engineering Corps and military-affiliated commercial companies have previously reported clearance of several hundred square kilometers a year, but no information was received for operations in 2015.[21] International operators reported clearance of 9.8km² for the year (see table below).

Land released through clearance by international operators rose sharply in 2015 as a result of a nearly fivefold increase in clearance by MAG compared with the previous year. MAG added 14 mine action teams and seven brush-cutting teams in 2015, bringing the total number of staff to 377.[22] MAG’s increased focus on clearance in Quang Tri also led to a downturn in spot EOD tasks in 2015.

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2015

Note: APM = antipersonnel mines; AVM = antivehicle mines.

PeaceTrees Vietnam, operating in Quang Tri province, said it employed 29 technicians who cleared 101,868m2 and destroyed a total of 3,031 items of UXO, but did not specify clearance of cluster munition remnants or provide any other details.[23]

DDG, which established a presence in Vietnam in 2013 initially conducting risk education in Quang Nam province, started deploying EOD teams on spot tasks in June 2015, and in December started BAC focused on cluster munition remnants. By the end of March 2016, it had completed 105 BAC tasks releasing 43,414m².[24]

Spot/roving clearance and EOD in 2015

Land Release (Mines)

VNMAC reported that BOMICEN-managed demining teams continued to operate in Cao Bang and Lang Son provinces in 2015 and cleared 1km² but gave no details of what items were destroyed. The Ministry of Defense announced a two-year VND74 billion (US$3.5 million)[25] project to clear a 6.6km² area of mines and ERW in Cao Bang and Lang Son provinces, starting in November 2013. VNMAC said mine clearance operations in the provinces would continue in 2016.[26]

No other systematic survey or clearance of mined areas was reported in 2015. International operators focused on tackling cluster munition remnants and other types of ERW and as part of those operations reported clearance of a total of 20 landmines in 2015.[27]

The Monitor gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review supported and published by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which conducted mine action research in 2016 and shared it with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.