Achieving technology sovereignty, boosting domestic fleet market share to 30 percent, and transitioning 70 percent of the blue economy to renewables and advanced services will mark Vietnam’s rise as a maritime power, Professor Carl Thayer of the Australian Defence Force Academy at University of New South Wales has said.

Regarding the strategies to implement civilian-military dual-use design from the initial planning phase, he said the third strategy is modernizing domestic supply chains and promoting technology transfer.

This strategy comprises two key components: (1) restructuring state-owned heavy industrial enterprises through technological modernization; and (2) strictly applying local content requirements for domestic labor and products.

Major corporations such as Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) and domestic shipbuilders need to assume the role of primary contractors in offshore wind logistics by upgrading their technology to manufacture platforms and large vessels. On this foundation, state-owned industrial enterprises must develop manufacturing capabilities for wind turbine foundations, subsea stations, and a specialized fleet for offshore installation work.

Regarding local content requirements, regulations must clearly specify concrete percentages for domestic content and local labor in offshore wind projects so Vietnam can cultivate a high-quality team of domestic engineers and oceanographers. This will help reduce Vietnam's reliance on foreign experts.

The fourth strategy is increasing investment to build domestic oceanographic capabilities and data sovereignty, ensuring that Vietnam retains intellectual property rights over its marine spatial mapping data. Relying on foreign software platforms to monitor seaports or energy systems exposes Vietnam to severe risks. This strategy comprises two components:

First, when licensing commercial offshore projects, Vietnam must require foreign partners to transfer all high-resolution bathymetric, meteorological, and seabed geological data into a centralized Vietnamese state database.

Second, Vietnam needs to develop its own maritime surveillance technologies and artificial intelligence. This requires increased investment in tracking satellite constellations, maritime UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), and AI-driven maritime data processing systems.

Key indicators measuring Vietnam's rise as strong maritime nation

There are six key indicators to evaluate the extent to which Vietnam fulfills its vision of becoming a strong maritime nation by 2045.

The first indicator is determining whether the share of blue economy GDP derived from high-tech services, such as maritime finance, international arbitration, subsea engineering, data logistics, and offshore renewable energy increases relative to raw resource extraction activities like wild capture fishing and oil and gas extraction.

By 2045, Vietnam should no longer be constrained by concerns over finite resource depletion. Over 70 percent of the blue economy's value should be generated from renewable energy production and advanced knowledge-based services.

The second indicator is determining whether the market share of the domestic long-haul shipping fleet expands over time. In other words, it is necessary to evaluate whether the proportion of Vietnam's import-export cargo carried by Vietnamese owned, flag-flying ocean-going vessels on intercontinental routes, such as to Europe and the Americas, increases significantly by 2045.

By 2045, the import-export cargo transport market share of Vietnam's fleet needs to rise from current single-digit levels to at least 30 percent, while transitioning into zero-emission cargo vessels built in domestic shipyards.

The third indicator is determining the ratio of container cargo entering primary deep-water ports that transfers directly onto high-speed rail networks compared to cargo moved by trucks.

By 2045, Vietnam should target elevating the automated sea-rail multimodal transport ratio at deep-water ports to 40 percent. This will sharply reduce domestic logistics costs and lower supply chain carbon emissions.

The fourth indicator is determining the proportion of subsea monitoring operations, hydrographic mapping, subsea cable maintenance, and offshore wind services conducted using Vietnamese technology, satellites, and technical personnel.

The fifth indicator is determining the annual output of green electricity and hydrogen exported into the ASEAN Power Grid.

By 2045, Vietnam needs to become one of Southeast Asia's major net exporters of clean energy, equipped with the capacity to safeguard regional power grids.

Tu Giang - Lan Anh