Özet:

The South China Sea dispute is a major foreign policy issue for Vietnam with regard to its security and economic interests as well as its relations with other regional and major powers. Vietnam’s policy over the SCS creates significant implications for regional stability as Vietnam engages with China and the US. In recent years, it tends to move towards diversification of its diplomatic and military options with other non-claimant states such as Japan, India and Russia. These diversification attempts are also strongly associated with energy security matters. This article argues that potential risk for conflict escalation in the SCS is growing not only because of China’s growing influence in the region but also because of its increasing energy security concerns. In this regard, Vietnam’s concerns over security interests, but particularly energy security concerns, set limits for Vietnam-China cooperation. Thus, the newly adopted energy policy orientation presents potential risks for the future relations between the two countries. It is suggested that there is an urgent need to take certain actions to prevent potential conflict escalation in the SCS in the coming years. 

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