1. Full name of doctoral candidate: Nguyen Huu Tuc 2. Gender: Male
3. Date of birth: August 1, 1981 4. Place of birth: Hanoi
5. Decision to recognize doctoral students: Decision No. 1806/2018/QD-XHNV, dated June 29, 2018, of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
6. Changes to the training process (if any): Extend the training period by an additional 2 years, from June 2021 to June 2023.
7. Thesis title: The US's Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy from a Military Security Perspective.
8. Major: International Relations 9. Code: 9310601.01
10. Scientific supervisor: - Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hong Quan
- Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Manh Dung
11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:
- Research objective: To examine the formation and implementation of the Strategy from a military security perspective, assess its impacts, and make recommendations for Vietnam.
- Research subject and scope: The US's free and open Indo-Pacific strategy from a military security perspective, covering the period from 2017-2022.
- Research methods: (1) Historical; (2) Logical; (3) Analysis; (4) Synthesis; (5) Expert and comparative.
- Contribution of the Thesis: Serving research, teaching, and learning activities for universities, institutes, and research centers in Vietnam and the region.
- The main results of the thesis:
+ Chapter I. “Overview of the history of research” focuses on researching and clarifying written documents on the Indo-Pacific Strategy and US foreign policy under Donald Trump related to this region. Specifically, it focuses on documents from domestic and foreign experts and scholars on the following issues: (1) The process of forming and implementing the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, particularly focusing on its implementation with countries such as Japan, India, and Australia; (2) The impact of the Strategy on the world and the region; (3) The prospects of the Strategy during and after Donald Trump's term in office; (4) How Vietnam should handle this Strategy to serve the goal of protecting and developing the country. Through this research, the thesis will provide comments and assessments on these documents, pointing out issues that have not been addressed, clarified, and need further research for development and improvement.
Chapter II. "Theoretical and Practical Foundations":
The theoretical framework refers to theoretical perspectives on international relations, focusing on theories relevant to the topic, including realism (US-China competition, hegemonic stability theory, and balance of power); liberalism (expanding cooperation); and constructivism (analysis of the personal role of President Donald Trump).
Practical basis clarifies the foundations of the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the factors influencing its creation, including: (1) The demands of the actual situation; (2) The existing advantages of the US; (3) Internal US politics and the personal factor of Donald Trump.
- Chapter III. “The Formation Process and Practical Implementation of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy from a Military Security Perspective” focuses on clarifying the following major contents: (1) Clarifying the process of its creation in the form of a timeline, from the formation of the idea to the announcement and practical implementation of the Strategy; (2) The content of the Strategy, addressing the main contents of the Strategy from the US perspective from a military security perspective; (3) The practical implementation of the Strategy from a military security perspective under President Donald Trump and the early days of the Joe Biden administration, focusing on: (i) Consolidating and strengthening relations with allies and partners (including the Quad group, allies such as Japan, Australia, South Korea, partners such as India, Taiwan, ASEAN, South Pacific countries…); (ii) Consolidating and strengthening forces to maintain military superiority in the region (including increasing military spending, strengthening military forces, strengthening strategic nuclear forces in the Indo-Pacific region, and relocating US military bases in the Indo-Pacific region); (iii) Maintaining and strengthening military activities in the region (such as participating in military training and exercises; conducting military reconnaissance and intelligence gathering; military diplomacy and multilateral defense cooperation; cooperation in addressing non-traditional security challenges; and conducting freedom of navigation operations).
- Chapter IV, "Impacts and prospects of the Indo-Pacific Strategy and recommendations for Vietnam," focuses on clarifying:
(1) Impact of the Strategy on the regional geostrategic environment; other multilateral cooperation models in the region; on each specific country in the region.
(2) Prospects of the Strategy after the survey period (2017-2020).
(3) Some proposals for Vietnam, clarifying how Vietnam needs to handle things in order to best utilize the advantages of this Strategy, serving the tasks of protecting, building and developing the country. Proposing solutions to prevent and limit the disadvantages of this Strategy.
- Conclude:
With the introduction of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, a new regional concept emerged in U.S. military strategic planning. While not an entirely new term, it only became widely used and popular among researchers and policymakers after being adopted by the world's leading superpower. Introducing a concept that connects two oceans and one of the world's most dynamic regions is logical, reflecting the ambition and comprehensive strategic thinking of the United States. It also affirms the region's position not only for the U.S. itself but for the world. The planning and implementation of the Strategy demonstrate the U.S.'s attitude and determination to maintain a key role in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific Strategy also highlights the importance of U.S. hard power. The use of economic and military strength to intimidate and deter remains fundamental to the U.S. maintaining its position. The Indo-Pacific Strategy has a significant impact on the regional situation in general and on Vietnam in particular. As a country with a turbulent history of relations with both China and the United States, Vietnam faces numerous challenges and opportunities presented by the Indo-Pacific Strategy. The challenge for Vietnam is to find effective measures to mitigate the negative impacts and maximize the positive aspects of the Strategy and the new environment.
12. Further research directions: The development of the Strategy, particularly the potential for the formation of hard military alliances led by the US, impacts the security structure and the resolution of regional hotspots, and consequently, proposes a course of action for Vietnam.
13. Publications related to the dissertation:
- Nguyen Huu Tuc (2021), “Is Vietnam open to Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy?” East Asia Forum, https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/03/04/is-vietnam-open-to-washingtons-indo-pacific-strategy/.
- Nguyen Huu Tuc (2021), “US priorities in implementing the FOIP strategy in the new situation and issues posed for the regional security environment”, International Conference Proceeding on “The security and development issues in the new situation”, The Gioi Publisher, Hanoi, pp. 85-101.
- Nguyen Hong Quan, Nguyen Huu Tuc (2022), “Possible Scenarios in the post Donald Trump period of the USA's Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”, The Journal of the United Service Institution of India, Vol CLII, No.67, pp.36-43.
 

- Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Manh Dung

- Research objectives: The process of forming and implementing the Strategy in terms of military security, assessing the impacts and making recommendations to Vietnam.
- Object and scope of the study: The US free and open Indo-Pacific strategy on in terms of military security, range from 2017-2022.
- Research methods: (1) History; (2) Logic; (3) Analysis; (4) Synthesis; (5) Expert and comparative.
- Contribution of the thesis: Serving research, teaching and learning for universities, institutes, research centers in Vietnam and the region.
- The main results of the thesis:
+ Chapter I. "Overview of research history" focuses on research and clarification of written documents on the FOIP Strategy, foreign policy of the US under Donald Trump related to this area. In particular, focusing on documents of domestic and foreign experts and scholars on issues: (1) The process of formation and implementation of the US Strategy, especially with countries like Japan, India and Australia; (2) The impact of the Strategy on the world and the region; (3) Strategy's outlook during and after Donald Trump administration; (4) How should Vietnam deal with this Strategy to serve the purpose of national protection and development. Through the research, the thesis will give comments and reviews on these documents, point out the issues that have not been mentioned, clarify, need more research to develop and complete.
+ Chapter II. "Theoretical and practical basis":
Theoretical basis refers to international relations theory, focusing on theories related to topics, including realism (US-China competition, hegemonic stability theory and balance of power); liberalism (cooperation); constructivism (analysis of President Donald Trump's personal role).
The practical basis clarifies the basis of planning the Strategy and the factors affecting the creation of the Strategy, including (1) Requirements of the actual situation; (2) America's existing background advantages; (3) Internal politics in the US and the personal factor of Donald Trump.
+ Chapter III. "The process of formation and practical implementation of the US FOIP Strategy in terms of military security" focuses on clarifying the major contents:
(1) Clarifying the birth process in the form of a time frame, from the concept of the idea to the announcement and implementation of the Strategy in practice;
(2) Content of the Strategy, referring to the main contents of the Strategy in terms of military security;
(3) Practical implementation of the Strategy in terms of military security in reality under President Donald Trump and the early days of the Joe Biden administration, focused on: (i) Enhancing and strengthening relations with allies and partners (including the QUAD group, allied countries such as Japan, Australia, South Korea, partners such as India, Taiwan, ASEAN, the South Pacific ...); (ii) Consolidate and strengthen forces to maintain military superiority in the region (including increasing military spending, consolidating military forces, consolidating strategic nuclear forces in the region, the redeployment of the US military bases in the Indo-Pacific region); (iii) Maintain and strengthen regional military operations (such as participating in military training and drills; conducting military reconnaissance and intelligence operations; military diplomacy and cooperation multilateral defense; cooperation in solving non-traditional security challenges; deployment of freedom of navigation operations - FOPNOPs).
+ Chapter IV. "The impact and prospects of the Strategy and its recommendations for Vietnam" focuses on clarifying: (1) The impact of the Strategy on the regional geostrategic environment; other models of multilateral cooperation in the region; for each specific country in the region; (2) Prospects of the Strategy after the survey period (2017-2020); (3) Some proposals for Vietnam, clarifying how Vietnam do to make the best use of the advantages of this Strategy, serving the tasks of national protection, construction and development.
Conclusions:
With the advent of the combat strategy, a new regional concept appears in the US military strategic planning. Although it is not a completely new term, it is only widely known when Donald Trump mentioned it in his official statements. It is reasonable to introduce a concept that connects the two oceans and the most dynamic region in the world, expressing America's ambition as well as extensive strategic thinking. At the same time affirmed the position of the region not only for the United States itself but also to the world. The planning and implementation of the Strategy demonstrates the attitude and determination to hold a key role of the US in the region. The FOIP strategy also shows the importance of the hard power of America. Using economic and military might for prestige and deterrence remains the foundation for the United States to maintain its position. The Strategy has a great impact on the situation of the region in general and Vietnam in particular. As a neighboring country with a complicated history with China, Vietnam is facing many challenges and opportunities from the FOIP Strategy. The problem posed for Vietnam is to seek effective measures to neutralize the negative and promote the positive brought about by the new Strategy as well as the environment.
12. Future research directions: The development of the Strategy, especially the ability to form hard military alliances led by the US, affects the security structure and resolves regional hotspots, thereby promoting recommendations for Vietnam.
13. Thesis-related publications

- Nguyen Huu Tuc (2021), “Is Vietnam open to Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy?” East Asia Forum,https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/03/04/is-vietnam-open-to-washingtons-indo-pacific-strategy/.
- Nguyen Huu Tuc (2021), “US priorities in implementing the FOIP strategy in the new situation and issues posed for the regional security environment”, International Conference Proceeding on “The security and development issues in the new situation”, The Gioi Publisher, Hanoi, pp. 85-101.
- Nguyen Hong Quan, Nguyen Huu Tuc (2022), “Possible Scenarios in the post Donald Trump period of the USA's Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”, The Journal of the United Service Institution of India, Vol CLII, No.67, pp.36-43.