Maritime Economic Cooperation in the East Sea in the Context of Strategic Competition: Opportunities, Barriers, and Policy Implications for Vietnam

Abstract

The East Sea is a maritime space of particular significance for economic development, energy security, maritime trade, coastal livelihoods, and the geo-economic structure of the Asia-Pacific region. Against the backdrop of increasing strategic competition among major powers, maritime economic cooperation in the East Sea offers both opportunities to promote a green economy, circular economy, maritime connectivity, offshore renewable energy, sustainable fisheries, and marine environmental protection, while also facing numerous obstacles stemming from sovereignty disputes, legal disagreements, lack of strategic trust, resource depletion, climate change, and competition for influence among major powers. This article analyzes the legal and institutional basis of maritime economic cooperation in the East Sea, identifies key opportunities and obstacles, and proposes several policy implications for Vietnam. The central argument is that Vietnam needs to pursue a "principled cooperation" approach: promoting maritime economic cooperation based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ensuring national interests, maintaining a peaceful environment, and proactively creating substantive cooperation mechanisms in less sensitive areas such as marine environmental protection, marine scientific research, sustainable fisheries, green transformation of seaports, and offshore renewable energy.