Making waves
Marine research vessels in China and Vietnam’s overlapping maritime zones
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13137286 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bama Andika Putra (0000-0001-5952-136X, Hasanuddin University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2673-3145 • E-ISSN: 2673-3145 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpos.2025.1670797 |
| OpenAlex | W4414299370 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 43 |
Past studies have emphasized the significance of reclamations, oil and gas drilling operations, and the deployment of coast guards, as symbols of effective occupancy in grey zone areas of the South China Sea. Unfortunately, the rising number of Chinese research ships infiltrating Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) seems to be disregarded in its significance, as scholars interpret the actions as taken-for-granted events. This qualitative, multiple empirical case study aims to elucidate the maritime events, situated within the analytical framework of maritime diplomacy’s persuasive and coercive maritime conduct. Utilizing data attained from AIS and reported by Marine Traffic, Sea Vision, SeaLight, and Windward between 2019 and 2025, this study concludes the following: (1) the deliberate deployment of Chinese research ships as means to project the state’s maritime power despite the lack of understanding as whether the operations fall within the spectrum of scientific, military, or commercial research; (2) the function of compelling Vietnam to abandon or cancel the oil and gas drilling operations undertaken within its EEZ; and (3) populating the seas as means to display effective occupation and weaken the adversary’s claim by establishing a landscape of latent threats at sea
China · Drilling · Empirical research · Function (biology · Situated · Software deployment · Territorial waters · Arctic and Russian Policy Studies · International Maritime Law Issues · Space exploration and regulation
The Impact of China's Coast Guard on Indo‐Pacific Security from the Perspective of a Maritime Power
Vietnam's strategic engagement in the South China Sea
Catching sovereignty fish
Controversies and amendment proposals on the China Coast Guard Law
Lawships or warships? Coast guards as agents of (in)stability in the Pacific and South and East China Sea
China’s Assertive Foreign Policy in South China Sea Under Xi Jinping
Explaining the increase of China’s power in the South China Sea through international relation theories
Joint development in the South China Sea
Hybrid warfare
Chinese Assertiveness in the South China Sea and Southeast Asian Responses
Navigating the Security Dilemma
What’s Really Going On in the South China Sea
China's New Assertiveness in the South China Sea
When strategy is ‘hybrid’ and not ‘grey’
Explaining China’s large-scale land reclamation in the South China Sea
Grey Zone Conflict in the South China Sea
China’s Strategy in the South China Sea
Fishing Militia, the Securitization of Fishery and the South China Sea Dispute
Policing the Waves
The Return of Gunboat Diplomacy
The Law of the Sea and PRC Gray-Zone Operations in the South China Sea
Tread with caution
The rise of paragunboat diplomacy as a maritime diplomatic instrument
Rise of Constabulary Maritime Agencies in Southeast Asia
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |