Tread with caution: Vietnam’s retaliatory and deference measures vis-à-vis assertiveness at sea

Abstract

ABSTRACT As a claimant state to the South China Sea, Vietnam is known to be decisive in safeguarding its maritime territorial claims. In order to be consistent with its echoed rules-based order in the South China Sea and its defense policy of non-alignment, this study argues that Vietnam's responses vis-à-vis China's assertiveness at sea have been through the employment of divergent maritime diplomatic strategies of retaliation and deference vis-à-vis China. This study concludes; Vietnam primarily employs civilian maritime hard power assets to showcase its active presence at sea to secure recognition of its contemporary maritime capabilities; Vietnam engages in limited-coercive maritime diplomacy through its maritime constabulary forces to indicate Vietnam's decisiveness in its maritime claims; and Vietnam's co-operative maritime diplomacy is through the conduct of joint exercises and training, and goodwill visits, with its strategic partners in Southeast Asia and broader Indo-Pacific region. It concludes that Vietnam is treading with caution with the US to deter producing signals of engaging closer with the US, which can cause elevated tensions at sea. This explanatory empirical research utilizes data from AMTI and relevant secondary sources between 2010-2022 and adopts the theoretical framework of Le Miere's tripartite typology of maritime diplomacy.