ABSTRACT
A stronger US presence and deeper involvement made the state of affairs in the South China Sea more complex and intractable. Though resuming bilateral talks with Vietnam on maritime issues, China continued to expand its presence in the South China Sea. Vietnam found itself trapped in a three-layer game in the South China Sea. At the core, the South China Sea problem represents a set of confl icts of interest among claimants on sovereignty over insular features and jurisdiction over different maritime zones. The second layer is the contest between China and ASEAN as a group in properly manage the existing disputes and the central role of ASEAN in handling regional affairs. As incidents unfolded, there was a widening divergence among ASEAN members on how to handle relations with China. The outermost layer is the contest between China and the United States for primacy in the IndoPacifi c region. Inside the country, the Vietnamese political elites faced stronger calls for legal actions and meaningful strategic relations with the United States to fend off revisionist China. It was now all the more diffi cult for Hanoi to defend its maritime interests without signifi cant detriment to its relations with Beijing.
