Le Hong Hiep, a young Vietnamese scholar, has talked about his passion for the study of the East Vietnam Sea situation and shared his thoughts on the standard of academics in this country.

Hiep, 35, developed his passion for understanding the situation in the East Vietnam Sea during his time working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

There he was assigned tasks related to territorial boundaries, which included issues regarding sea disputes.

“I had additional knowledge of maritime law which gave me a good understanding of the situation. From then on, I started to grow more interested in the topic of the East Vietnam Sea,” Hiep said.

The disputes in the East Vietnam Sea have grown beyond the field of strategy, military, and diplomacy and extended to academics, Hiep stated, adding that the opinions of Vietnamese scholars at international forums will have a considerable impact on the global community.

While China has sent its academics to propagate its views around the world and even established two centers designed exclusively for the study of sea disputes, Vietnam’s capability in this area is still limited, the scholar said.

“Vietnam has developed and trained a number of intellectuals with passion and ability to contribute to the East Vietnam Sea situation at many international forums, but the number is still small,” Hiep elaborated.

He recommended that the Vietnamese government exert more effort to improve the field of study by providing financial support for the training and education of experts in maritime law, and create an open environment for young scholars to present their ideas.

The role of academics in problems regarding Vietnam’s territorial sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes is to offer accurate information, evidence and argument, based on which policymakers can do their job, according to Hiep.

The most important quality of a scholar is passion and humbleness, he asserted, explaining that passion will help them overcome challenges while modesty will fuel them with the motivation to keep expanding their knowledge.

“I have to regularly update my understanding and learn from other intellectuals, even those from the opposite side, in order to enhance my personal skills and ability,” the young scholar said.

Le Hong Hiep was born in the north-central province of Ha Tinh in 1981. He graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and began work as a lecturer in international studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hiep, who gained a PhD, is one of only three Vietnamese to receive the scholarship of the Australian Prime Minister for Asian academics in 2010.

He is currently a research fellow at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and the founder of nghiencuuquocte.net, a Vietnamese-language Internet database on politics and international relations.

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