Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, when he was alive, held the position of Deputy Defense Minister for 12 years, until retiring in December 2021. Previously, Gen. Vinh served as General Director of General Department 2 of Intelligence of the ministry, member of the party’s Central Committee, Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission.
On the morning of September 14, Vietnamese media reported that Gen. Vinh passed away on the same day “from a serious illness” at the age of 65.
If compared with his image on May 10 when he appeared at the event where the Japanese Embassy awarded him the Rising Sun Medal, then people have the right to doubt information about his health. Accordingly, he had cancer for a long time, and was still receiving treatment until his death.
That means, when he became a member of the Party Central Committee for the 12th term, Nguyen Chi Vinh had cancer. This is impossible, because the health protection regime for senior leaders in Vietnam is extremely strict. According to regulations, they must have a general health check-up at least once every 6 months, and in case of doubt, reduce it to once a month, if necessary. If Gen. Vinh had cancer for a long time, he would have been detected and treated early. Thus, the signs of fatigue due to chemotherapy and radiotherapy have long appeared. But by May 2023, he still looked very good. Therefore, the fact that Gen. Vinh had cancer a long time ago can be ruled out.
Vinh is said to be famous for his statements about sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea), such as “Vietnam will do everything to protect its sovereignty, and will never give in on this issue” or once emphasized that “Vietnam will never accept “a dependent peace” or must it defeat all plots which violate its sovereignty.”
As well as his view on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in an interview at the end of 2022, Mr. Vinh expressed his wish for the parties to quickly find a solution to end the conflict. Although he did not mention Russia by name, General Vinh still hinted that “countries that pursue the path of using violence to gain unjustified benefits will have to pay the price.”
General Vinh is an influential man and held a high position in the military, especially in the field of foreign affairs. Statements like those just mentioned are highly likely to make General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong unhappy, because Vietnam’s relationship with Russia and China are strategic allies.
Therefore, the rapid change in health and appearance in the time before his death has led people to suspect that there was an outside “influence” on Mr. Vinh?
Previously, President Tran Dai Quang and Politburo member Nguyen Ba Thanh, high-ranking figures of the Communist Party of Vietnam, also had negative health problems before passing away, similar to Gen. Vinh.
In 2015, Nguyen Ba Thanh suffered from myelodysplastic syndrome. American doctors decided to receive chemotherapy to proceed with a bone marrow transplant, but it was unsuccessful and had to be brought back to Vietnam and died a short time later.
Then, in 2017, Tran Dai Quang also became seriously ill and passed away. Afterwards, Nguyen Quoc Trieu, then Head of the Central Committee for Health Care and Protection, said that Mr. Quang was infected with a rare and toxic virus for which the world has no cure. Therefore, there is a high possibility that Gen. Vinh’s case has the same symptoms as Mr. Tran Dai Quang’s.
Regarding the suspicion that General Vinh may have been poisoned by radiation from a “foreign country,” in a closed forum there was an objection, saying:
“It has absolutely nothing to do with China. As for the Chinese leadership, they still hope for Vinh to live a healthy life, which is different… anyone but Comrade Vinh’s psychology and physiology are in the palm of their [China’s] hands; Tell me about a time when Chinese failed to achieve their goal because of Comrade Vinh(?); Or thanks to that comrade’s “invisible help” China can continuously grow stronger in Southeast Asia.
This viewpoint is completely 180 degrees opposite to the assessment of Western political and military officials, as mentioned above.
The question is, if Chinese spies eliminate “comrade” Vinh, what will be their benefit?
Journalist Huy Duc, in a latest status about General Vinh, commented that: “Among the children of Communist leaders of the generation that opened the regime, Nguyen Chi Vinh shows that he is a talented person more and more successful.
Again, there are many high-ranking leaders in the Politburo who are very shy and do not want Gen. Vinh to continue holding the position of Director General of General Department 2, because it causes them to concern. Plus the information that, besides Russia, China and a very few countries can prepare the radioactive substance polonium-210, including Vietnam.
So is there or not, are there political forces within the Party that want to get rid of Senior General and former Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh – who is responsible for foreign affairs and intelligence work – along with so many secrets which will forever go with him?./.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
