1. Full name of PhD student: NGUYEN THE THANH.              

2. Gender: Male

3. Date of birth: May 23, 1981

4. Place of birth: Thanh Hoa

5. Decision to recognize PhD students: Decision No. 4055/2022/QD-XHNV, dated December 28, 2022 of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities,Vietnam National University, Hanoi

6. Changes in training process (if any):

7. Thesis topic name:US Force Buildup in the Indo-Pacific Region (2017 - 2025).

8. Major: International Relations

9. Code: 9310601.01

10. Scientific instructors: Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Huy Hoang and Dr. Vu Van Anh.

11. Summary of new results of the thesis:

- Research purpose: The thesis aims to comprehensively analyze the US's force mobilization activities in the Indo-Pacific region from 2017 to 2025, assess the impact of these strategies on the region and Vietnam, thereby proposing policy recommendations to help Vietnam adapt effectively in the context of strategic competition between major powers.

- Research subjects: Thesis research on US force formation in the Indo-Pacific region in the period 2017 - 2025.

- Research methods:

The thesis applies a synthesis of research methods, mainly historical methods; pcontent analysis and discourse analysis; ppolicy analysis methods; pmeta-analysis; pcomparative method; forecasting method.

- Main results and new contributions of the thesis:

+ Practical contributions:The first, rich empirical data on FOIP, IPS, FONOPs, IPEF initiatives... in the period of 2017 - 2025 helps authorities forecast the trend of US force adjustment in the next term and China's response scenario.Monday, the thesis's policy recommendations are linked to four core interest groups of Vietnam: maritime security, supply chain diversification, digital transformation, and value diplomacy. These recommendations aim at three goals:One is, taking advantage of “institutional variation” from flexible US-led mechanisms to increase strategic leverage.Two is, maintaining a dynamic balance between major powers through “flexible multi-alignment”.Three is, enhance endogenous capacity to reduce dependence.Tuesday,The thesis can be used as a specialized document for training courses on international relations and regional security.

+ Theoretical contributions:The first, the thesis clarifies and expands the concept of “force aggregation” beyond the scope of traditional “military alliances”. The author points out that today’s force aggregation includes diverse forms from treaty allies, strategic partners, sub-multilateral mechanisms (Quad, AUKUS, IPEF) and flexible, pragmatic operating mechanisms, set in the context of US-China competition. This approach overcomes the tendency to homogenize alliances of many previous works, while creating conditions for accurate assessment of the motivation, goals and level of constraints of each form of cooperation.Monday, the thesis integrates three streams of international relations theory: realism, liberalism and constructivism in a five-level analytical framework (global, regional, inter-state, national, individual). Putting realism as the main axis to explain power dynamics, while adding liberalism (institutional cooperation) and constructivism (value role, identity) helps to decode US behavior in the Indo-Pacific in a comprehensive way. This multi-level framework is an analytical tool for the thesis, at the same time suggesting directions for application in research on flexible forms of alliances, associations, and cooperation in the era of comprehensive competition.Tuesday, the thesis makes a new contribution to the theory of balance of power from the perspective of small and medium-sized states. By emphasizing the strategic choice of Vietnam and ASEAN countries in the direction of “flexible multi-alignment” to avoid being caught in a “strategic jam”, it has added the variable “adjustment ability of small countries” to the balance model, an aspect often overlooked by major power studies.

12. Further research directions: Gathering forces of major countries in the Indo-Pacific region and the world.

13. Publications related to the thesis:

13.1. Nguyen The Thanh (2024), “Us-Led Minilateral Mechanisms for Security Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific From 2017 to 2023: Policy Implications for Vietnam”, Proceedings of International conference Regional and sub-regional cooperation in East and Southeast Asia, ISBN: 978-604-77-3984-4, pp.12-31.

13.2. Nguyen The Thanh (2025), “The political situation of the Indo-Pacific region and trends in making foreign policy of small and medium countries”,International Journal of Science Academic ResearchVol. 06 (04), pp.9704-9707.

13.3. Nguyen The Thanh (2025), “US policy towards the Indo-Pacific region”,International Journal of Science Academic ResearchVol. 06 (05), pp.9944-9946.

13.4. Nguyen The Thanh (2025), “Trends in Making Foreign Policy of Indo-Pacific Small and Medium Countries and Implications for Vietnam”,Proceedings of International conference Opportunities and Challenges to th Stability and Development of the Indo- Pacific region,ISBN: 978-632-02-0061-0, pp.440-462.

INFORMATION ABOUT DISSERTATION

1. Full name: NGUYEN THE THANH                   

2. Sex: Male

3. Date of birth: May 23, 1981

4. Place of birth: Thanh Hoa Province

5. Amission decision number: Decision No. 4055/2021/QD-XHNV-DT dated December 28, 2022 of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in the training process (if any):

7. Official thesis title: US's force aggregation in Indo-Pacific (2017 - 2025).

8. Major: International Relations

9. Code: 9310601.01

10. Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huy Hoang and Dr. Vu Van Anh.

11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

- The purpose of the thesis is to comprehensively analyze the US force mobilization activities in the Indo-Pacific region from 2017 to 2025, assess the impact of these strategies on the region and Vietnam, thereby reflecting policy recommendations to help Vietnam adapt effectively in the context of strategic competition between major powers.

- The research object of the thesis is the formation of US forces in the Indo-Pacific region in the period 2017 - 2025.

- The thesis uses a combination of research methods, mainly historical methods; content analysis and discourse analysis methods; policy analysis methods; synthetic analysis methods; comparative methods; and forecasting methods.

- New contributions of the thesis:

+ Practical contributions:Firstly,rich practical data on the FOIP, IPS, FONOPs, IPEF initiatives... in the period of 2017 - 2025 helps authorities forecast the trend of US force adjustment in the next term and China's response scenario.Secondly,the thesis's policy recommendations are linked to four core interest groups of Vietnam: maritime security, supply chain diversification, digital transformation and value diplomacy. These recommendations aim at three goals:First,taking advantage of “institutional variables” from flexible mechanisms led by the US to increase strategic leverage.Second,maintaining a dynamic balance between major powers through “flexible multi-linkage”.Third,enhances endogenous capacity to reduce dependence.Third,the thesis can be used as a specialized document for training courses on international relations and regional security.

+ Theoretical contributions:Firstly,the thesis clarifies and expands the concept of “force aggregation” beyond the scope of the traditional “military alliance”. The author points out that today's force aggregation includes diverse forms from treaty allies, strategic partners, mini-multilateral mechanisms (Quad, AUKUS, IPEF) and flexible, pragmatic operating mechanisms, set in the context of US-China competition. This approach overcomes the tendency to homogenize alliances of many previous works, while facilitating accurate assessment of the motivation, goals and level of constraints of each form of cooperation.Secondly,the thesis integrates three streams of international relations theory: realism, liberalism and constructivism in a five-level analytical framework (global, regional, inter-state, national, individual). Putting realism as the main axis to explain power dynamics, while adding liberalism (institutional cooperation) and constructivism (value role, identity) helps to decode US behavior in the Indo-Pacific in a comprehensive way. This multi-layered framework is an analytical tool for the thesis, and at the same time suggests directions for application in research on flexible forms of alliances, associations, and cooperation in the era of comprehensive competition.Lastly,the thesis makes a new contribution to the theory of balance of power from the perspective of small and medium-sized countries. By emphasizing the strategic choice of Vietnam and ASEAN countries in the direction of “flexible multi-alignment” to avoid being caught in a “strategic jam”, the variable “adjustability of small countries” has been added to the balance model, an aspect often overlooked by great power studies.

12. Further research directions: Force-gathering of major countries in the Indo-Pacific region and the world.

13. Thesis-related publications:

13.1. Nguyen The Thanh (2024), “US-led Minilateral Mechanisms for Security Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific From 2017 to 2023: Policy Implications for Vietnam”, Proceedings of International conference Regional and sub-regional cooperation in East and Southeast Asia, ISBN: 978-604-77-3984-4, pp.12-31.

13.2. Nguyen The Thanh (2025), “The political situation of the Indo-Pacific region and trends in making foreign policy of small and medium countries”,International Journal of Science Academic ResearchVol. 06 (04), pp.9704-9707.

13.3. Nguyen The Thanh (2025), “US policy towards the Indo-Pacific region”,International Journal of Science Academic ResearchVol. 06 (05), pp.9944-9946.

13.4. Nguyen The Thanh (2025), “Trends in Making Foreign Policy of Indo-Pacific Small and Medium Countries and Implications for Vietnam”,Proceedings of International conference Opportunities and Challenges to th Stability and Development of the Indo- Pacific region,ISBN: 978-632-02-0061-0, pp.440-462.