Explainer Series

How Vietnam sees itself
in the Indo-Pacific

February 2024

NGUYEN Hung Son is Vice President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, where he oversees the Institute for Strategic Studies and the East Sea (South China Sea) Institute. His research focuses on major power relations, regional and maritime security, and Vietnam’s foreign policy.

As a career diplomat, he has served at Vietnam’s embassies in Canada and Sweden, as well as in the ASEAN Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was part of the high-level task force that negotiated the ASEAN Charter.

He holds a BA from the National Economic University of Vietnam, an MSc in International Economics from the University of Birmingham, and a PhD in International Relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. His recent publications explore ASEAN’s role in the South China Sea and Southeast Asia’s regional responses.