On October 9, ORF America hosted a closed-door, private roundtable with a delegation from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. The discussion focused on Vietnam’s assessment of the situation in the East Sea/South China Sea and recent developments in the U.S.-Vietnam relationship. Key points from the discussion included:
Political and military competition is intensifying in the South China Sea: China’s use of maritime militia and coast guards to not merely claim but “enforce” sovereign rights is destabilizing regional security in Southeast Asia. China sees this as integral to its objective of building a “Sino-centrical regional order” in Asia. Consequently, Vietnam and select ASEAN countries are seeking cooperation in new areas like maritime domain awareness including in the undersea domain and information sharing.
U.S.-Vietnam relations are undergoing political and technological transitions: The United States is Vietnam’s largest trading partner, and the latter has also accorded the highest status of its diplomatic partnership to the former. Yet, relations are progressing not as rapidly as required. Unlike in the 1990s and 2000s, the U.S. political system no longer has Vietnam War veterans who were personally invested in building the relationship. Moreover, the proliferation of unmanned systems has forced countries to invest and build their own technology and defense industrial base. These transitions therefore provide new areas for U.S.-Vietnam cooperation.
The scope for intra-ASEAN cooperation and burden sharing is increasing: While U.S. diplomatic and military attention is focused on the Indo-Pacific region, other actors like Japan and South Korea are taking the lead in supporting ASEAN countries to counter Chinese diplomatic policies, particularly in the South China Sea dispute. Participants also provided examples of how ASEAN countries like Philippines and Vietnam are undertaking joint Coast Guard exercises to strengthen maritime cooperation.
Speakers:
Nguyen Hung Son, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
To Anh Tuan, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
Henrietta Levin, Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Colonel Thomas Stevenson, Assistant Professor, U.S. National War College
Moderator: Lindsey Ford, Senior Fellow for Foreign Policy and Security, ORF America
