Vietnam pursues marine cooperation as U.S. support remains uncertain

NOAA’s 2005 Nha Trang course assembled conservation practitioners from three countries

UPI reported that Vietnam’s drive to become a leading maritime nation is opening opportunities for the country to emerge as a regional center for marine conservation, scientific cooperation and training, potentially with renewed support from the United States. Two meetings in Hanoi, the Vietnam Maritime Forum on Oct. 2 and the 18th South China Sea International Conference on Oct. 7-8, highlighted Vietnam’s efforts to strengthen its maritime economy while expanding environmental protection and regional cooperation. The conference brought nearly 300 delegates and 50 speakers from more than 30 countries and territories to examine maritime disputes, regional security and cooperation. Nguyen Hung Son, president of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said practical measures that reduce risks and build confidence among South China Sea claimants are needed for regional stability, and that marine conservation offers one area for such cooperation, including joint fisheries assessments, scientific exchanges and training for marine protected-area managers. No new NOAA-sponsored training program or U.S.-Vietnam agreement has been announced, and Mary Ann Kutny, who oversees international affairs for NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, said, “We are not planning any new engagements with Vietnam at this time.”

The strategy behind those meetings is outlined in a policy initiative announced in July, which calls for transforming Vietnam into a major maritime power by 2030 with greater emphasis on marine science, modern ports, conservation and international partnerships. The country has more than 1,860 miles of coastline, and its economy depends heavily on fisheries, shipping, aquaculture and coastal tourism. UPI wrote that for a country with that coastline and economic base, the stakes extend beyond economic development.

At the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Son said, “We can start from very small things, but practical things that we can agree on, and we don’t have to wait until all the political differences are resolved.” UPI said the approach could position Vietnam as a regional hub for training marine protected-area managers and coordinating scientific research among countries divided by competing territorial claims in the South China Sea. Son emphasized that regional stability depends not simply on formal agreements but on practical measures that reduce risks and build confidence among South China Sea claimants, and said marine conservation offers one area for such cooperation, including joint fisheries assessments, scientific exchanges and training for marine protected-area managers.

Whether that cooperation develops with U.S. support is unsettled. Aldo Chircop of Dalhousie University’s Marine and Environmental Law Institute said Vietnam’s growing role in ocean governance deserves closer examination: “Exploring how Vietnam is pursuing a maritime policy to become more effective in regional ocean governance is a worthwhile pursuit.” He questioned, however, whether NOAA has sufficient resources and political backing to expand its regional engagement amid Trump administration reductions in climate and environmental programs. Kutny said her division has no immediate plans to expand cooperation with Hanoi. The United States nevertheless remains a major contributor to global ocean observations, providing more than half the data used by the international network that collects and shares ocean information. U.S. engagement with Vietnam has traditionally emphasized maritime security, coast guard cooperation and freedom of navigation, and UPI assessed that environmental cooperation offers another avenue for strengthening bilateral ties without making every initiative part of Washington’s strategic competition with China.

A U.S.-Vietnam conservation initiative offers a historical precedent. In December 2005, NOAA helped organize a marine protected-area management training program in Nha Trang, bringing together 35 conservation practitioners from Vietnam, China and Cambodia. An international team of 11 instructors from Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam and the United States conducted 14 days of training, followed by four days of mentorship instruction for eight participants. The program covered protected-area planning, zoning and community-based management, and according to NOAA’s report it sought to strengthen conservation management and support marine protected-area networks in the South China Sea. UPI noted that two decades later the experience offers a potential model for renewed regional cooperation.

Nha Trang, a coastal city that houses Vietnam’s Institute of Oceanography and hosted the 2005 NOAA-supported program, provides an existing institutional base for potential regional collaboration, UPI reported. The city could host regional training involving ASEAN governments, universities and conservation organizations, with programs that could focus on coral-reef monitoring, marine spatial planning, fisheries management and coastal-habitat restoration; training could also address biodiversity monitoring, satellite observations, coral-reef restoration, fisheries refugia and community-based conservation. A renewed program in Nha Trang could build on the 2005 precedent by bringing together Vietnamese institutions, NOAA specialists, U.S. universities and international conservation organizations. UPI said a renewed initiative involving Vietnamese marine scientists, ASEAN conservation officials and international partners would build on the earlier program. Such cooperation could also support Vietnam’s efforts to strengthen its marine-science institutions and expand its role in regional ocean governance. NOAA’s National Marine Protected Areas Center has experience in conservation training, professional exchanges and marine spatial planning. No new NOAA-sponsored training program has been announced. No new U.S.-Vietnam agreement or workshop has been announced, and any initiative would require government approval, institutional commitments and sustained financing.

Vietnam’s maritime development plans extend beyond ports, commercial shipping and offshore industries to investments in marine science, advanced technology and a skilled workforce, UPI reported. Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong has emphasized scientific research, marine data and stronger ocean governance as essential to that transformation. “Vietnam prioritizes partnerships that strengthen our own capacity: technology transfer, joint scientific research, investment in green maritime infrastructure and industries and modern ocean governance expertise,” Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Lai Thai Binh told UPI. U.N. Resident Coordinator Pauline Tamesis linked Vietnam’s maritime strategy to commitments made at the 2025 U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice, France. Vietnam has set a target of protecting at least 6% of its marine waters by 2030 while restoring degraded coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds. UPI noted that the goal remains below the global “30 by 30” commitment to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.

The South China Sea has overlapping claims involving China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Marine ecosystems do not follow political boundaries: fish stocks migrate between jurisdictions, while ocean currents carry nutrients, pollutants and marine organisms through shared waters. Coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass habitats face common threats from overfishing, pollution, coastal development and climate change.

ASEAN’s Working Group on Coastal and Marine Environment has warned of growing threats to Southeast Asia’s coastal waters, calling for stronger regional cooperation to combat plastics debris, adapt to climate change and protect vulnerable ecosystems. UPI said the group’s priorities underscore the need for coordinated scientific research, improved marine monitoring and joint efforts to address pollution and other environmental threats that cross national boundaries. Networks of marine protected areas, UPI reported, offer one approach for coordinating scientific monitoring, sharing environmental data and developing compatible conservation practices while retaining authority over sites within their jurisdictions. UPI cited a regional fisheries-refugia initiative supported by the Global Environment Facility, U.N. Environment Programme and Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center as one model linking habitat protection with sustainable fisheries management. Waters between Cambodia’s Kampot coast and Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island illustrate the potential for cross-border conservation, as fish stocks and marine habitats extend beyond national boundaries. Vietnam is also linking marine conservation to its broader blue economy strategy, emphasizing sustainable tourism, coastal livelihoods and environmental protection.

At the Cham Islands Marine Protected Area, established in 2005 off Vietnam’s central coast about 9.3 miles from the mainland, marine biodiversity protection is combined with community-based conservation and ecotourism. “Protecting ecosystems, sharing natural resources and diversifying livelihoods are key to strengthening the Cham Island communities,” retired marine conservation specialist Chu Manh Trinh told UPI. UPI said the approach could provide a framework for cooperation without requiring governments to resolve competing sovereignty claims.

Vietnamese marine scientist Nguyen Chu Hoi and Diplomatic Academy researcher Vu Hai Dang have previously called for a regional network of marine protected areas to safeguard biodiversity and improve cooperation among South China Sea countries. Their 2015 research argued that national conservation programs alone cannot adequately protect interconnected marine ecosystems, particularly where maritime disputes complicate regional management. Dang said, “We are looking at all forms of international partnerships which could help Vietnam to develop its maritime sectors with priority focuses on scientific research and technology.”

UPI reported that achieving meaningful protection will require more than designating conservation zones: Vietnam faces shortages of trained managers, scientific monitoring capacity and enforcement resources, along with pressure from fishing activity and coastal development. The country still faces substantial obstacles, including limited financing, uneven conservation management and mounting pressure on marine resources. UPI reported that expanding protected areas without enforcement, scientific monitoring and support from fishing communities would deliver limited environmental benefits.

UPI assessed that the October conferences highlighted an opportunity to redefine maritime leadership beyond commercial fleets, modern ports and naval capabilities, and that renewed scientific engagement could deepen U.S.-Vietnam relations while helping Southeast Asian countries manage shared marine resources. Reviving the cooperative spirit of NOAA’s 2005 program, UPI wrote, could offer Hanoi a practical first step toward becoming a regional center for marine conservation. In a sea frequently defined by territorial disputes, UPI said, Vietnam has an opportunity to demonstrate that maritime leadership can also begin with protecting the ecosystems its neighbors share.

UPI disclosed that James Borton participated as an invited panelist at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam’s 18th South China Sea International Conference in Hanoi on Oct. 7 and 8, 2026. The note identified Borton as a non-resident senior fellow at Johns Hopkins SAIS Foreign Policy Institute, the author of Harvesting the Waves: How Blue Parks Shape Policy, Politics, and Peacebuilding in the South China Sea and editor-in-chief of South China Sea NewsWire.