I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in International Laws at the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam in 2014 and Master of Laws at the University of Ottawa, Canada

I have been working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 8 years and I am currently the secretary to Ambassador Lai Thai Binh of Viet Nam

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Dr. Van T. Pham initiated the founding and manages the South China Sea Chronicle Initiative (SCSCI), a groundbreaking non-profit, non-governmental research initiative in Vietnam that is dedicated to promoting a facts-based and comprehensive understanding of the South China Sea disputes. The SCSCI has been striving for innovation in Vietnam, including the first Vietnam-based study led by Pham since 2019 to utilise technology for systematically tracking and promoting transparency of activities at sea. Their efforts have been featured on various expert platforms, research publications and media worldwide. The SCSCI continues to advocate for maritime transparency, fact-based understanding and rules-based collaborative solutions.

Dr. Pham holds a Ph.D in natural science from Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany. She is the author or co-author of several book chapters and articles in major newspapers, focusing on legal aspects and developments of the South China Sea disputes.

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Ms. Nguyen Phuong Thao is a PhD candidate at Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University. She holds a Master of Arts from Osaka Jogakuin University. Her research interests include influence operations, China’s foreign policy, and geopolitical tensions in South China Sea.

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Dr. Lai Thai Binh is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Philippines. He served as a Deputy Director-General of the East Sea (South China Sea) Institute (Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam), the Deputy Consul-General of Vietnam in Houston, Deputy Director-General and Assistant Director-General at Americas Department in the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director of the American research division, Director and Deputy Director of the North America division, and as a Vietnam-U.S. relations desk officer. He earned a BA in international economics from Hanoi Foreign Trade University and a Ph.D. in International relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

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Dr Do Thanh Hai is currently Senior Fellow and Deputy Director General of the East Sea Institute at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV). He previously served as Minister Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Vietnam in India, vacation scholar at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Political and Security Studies of the DAV’s Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies in Hanoi. He obtained his doctorate from the Australian National University and his master’s degree from Erasmus Mundus Global Studies Program.

He also published on The East Asia Policy, The Journal for Contemporary East Asia Studies, The Pacific Review, The Maritime Affairs, The ASAN Forum, CSIS PacNet, Journal of International Review (DAV) and a few international news outlets. He is the author of the book titled Vietnam and the South China Sea: Politics, Security and Legality and published by Routledge in 2017. His latest books, both of which are co-edited with Prof. Leszek Buszynski, are The South China Sea: From Regional Maritime Dispute to Geostrategic Competition published by Routledge in 2019 and Maritime Issues and Regional Order in Indo-Pacific published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2021.

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Dr. Vu Hai Dang is an Expert at the East Sea (South China Sea) Institute, Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam. Dang holds a SJD in marine environmental law from Dalhousie University and Master in International Trade Law from University of Paris V. His expertise includes international law, law of the sea, international environmental law with a geographical focus on Southeast Asia and the South China Sea. He has a broad experience, having worked in the various fields including the legal service, diplomacy, the civil service, and academia.

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Dr. Bich Tran (pronounced as Bic Trahn) is a postdoctoral fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a fellow at the 2024 International Strategy Forum. Her research interests include Vietnam’s grand strategy, Southeast Asian states’ relations with major powers, and issues at the intersection between geopolitics and technology.

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