The concept of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) has become increasingly popular in the Indo-Pacific region. With countries like Canada, the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom integrating MDA into their Indo-Pacific strategies to enhance regional engagement, its importance is undisputed. Notably, the QUAD members and the European Union are actively pursuing MDA cooperation with regional partners through numerous overlapping initiatives. China, too, is fostering information-sharing cooperation under the framework of blue economic cooperation with ASEAN.
In Southeast Asia, nations such as Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia are at the forefront of developing MDA capabilities both domestically and through international partnerships to address maritime security challenges. ASEAN's collective emphasis on MDA was highlighted during the Asian Regional Forum (ARF) on MDA in Tokyo in 2018, leading to the establishment of the ASEAN Information-Sharing Portal to enhance information-sharing protocols.
Despite these advancements, ASEAN's overall MDA capacity remains limited, often being conflated with intelligence services. This context underscores the need for a shared understanding of MDA's nature, its role in cooperation and competition in the South China Sea (East Sea in Vietnam), and its potential impact on Vietnam.
This report, titled “Maritime Domain Awareness in Cooperation and Competition in the South China Sea,” explores the MDA capabilities and understanding of key regional actors by addressing the following questions: How do key actors define, evaluate, and employ MDA? How is MDA utilized in both cooperative and competitive contexts in the South China Sea? What are the implications for Vietnam, considering its national interests? The report aims to outline a strategic approach for Vietnam to leverage MDA to safeguard its interests in the South China Sea while balancing other priorities and harnessing new technological trends.
Read the full report here
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