Soundings Papers: A Critical Review of Vietnam’s Marine Management and New Insights for a Sustainable Development of the Blue Economy

The idea of the blue economy has been gaining publicity since the second half of the 20th. century. Coastal states worldwide are especially aware of the crucial importance of oceans as an economic and ecological resource. Vietnam is a case in point. Occupying a vast area of the South China Sea, Vietnam, a developing state in South-East Asia, has an economy largely depending on marine resources. However, Vietnam faces many troubles in managing maritime spaces. This paper portrays the practices of the maritime spatial management of Vietnam in the South China Sea and then focuses on giving practical suggestions on maritime spatial planning and its implementation.