In a commentary, Xuan Dung Phan, a graduate student and Research Assistant at the RSIS, discussed the Vietnam-Indonesia North Natuna sea dispute. Overlapping exclusive economic zone (EEZ) claims in the waters surrounding the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea have been an irritant in Vietnam–Indonesia bilateral relations for decades. Pending an EEZ delimitation agreement, the two Southeast Asian neighbours should promote confidence-building measures to better manage the dispute, he said.

…Xuan Dung Phan is a graduate student and Research Assistant at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and a member of the US–Vietnam Next-Generation Leaders Initiative at the Pacific Forum.