The South China Sea: The Geo-political Epicenter of the Indo-Pacific?

Nguyen Hung Son is Vice President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in charge of research. He oversees the two research institutes of the academy, i.e., the Institute for Strategic studies and the East Sea (South China Sea) Institute. His research focuses on major powers relations, regional security issues, including maritime security and Vietnam’s foreign policy. As Diplomat, Nguyen Hung Son served at the ASEAN department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and extensively participated in regional summits. He was Member of the Vietnam High Level Task Force delegation negotiating the ASEAN Charter in 2006–2007. He also served at the Vietnam's missions in Ottawa, Canada (2015–2018) and in Stockholm, Sweden (2004–2006).



Nguyen Thi Lan Anh is Director General of the East Sea Institute, the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. She is Legal Expert on the law of the sea. Her research focuses on the South China Sea disputes as well as other issues related to ocean law and policy. In her role at the DAV, she offers legal analysis and advisory opinions to political, diplomatic, and security deliberations. She often participates as Resource Person and leads Vietnamese delegation to track II and 1.5 conferences and workshops to engage other regional countries on maritime security and ocean law and policy.