Thayer Consultancy Background Brief:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

Do Russian Oil Companies
Complicate U.S.-Vietnam
Relations?
June 28, 2023

In 2019, the U.S. State Department took a relatively strong line against Chinese
incursions into the PetroVietnam-Rosneft joint venture. Given the ongoing invasion of
Ukraine, is the U.S. less likely now to go to bat in defense of drilling operations
involving sanctioned Russian companies?
ANSWER: The strong U.S. reaction in 2019 was in response to a call by Vietnam for
support from the international community to join its efforts “in maintaining order,
peace and security in the South China Sea.” This call suited Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo’s anti-Chinese Communist Party Crusade. The State Department issued a
press statement that declared:
The United States is concerned by reports of China’s interference with oil and gas activities
in the South China Sea (SCS), including Vietnam’s long-standing exploration and production
activities. China’s repeated provocative actions aimed at the offshore oil and gas
development of other claimant states threaten regional energy security and undermine the
free and open Indo-Pacific energy market…
The United States firmly opposes coercion and intimidation by any claimant to assert its
territorial or maritime claims.
China should cease its bullying behavior and refrain from engaging in this type of
provocative and destabilizing activity.
This year Vietnam kept rather quiet letting the spokesperson for the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs issue a call for China to leave the area.
The U.S. pursues a free and open Indo-Pacific where nations are able to choose
without intimidation. However, the U.S. State Department has not issued a stand-
alone statement criticizing China for its intimidation of oil exploration activities in
Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone as it did in 2019.
While the Biden Administration is disposed to provide diplomatic/political support to
Vietnam against Chinese intimidation because it wants to secure an elevation of
bilateral relations to a strategic partnership this year, the Biden Administration is also
seeking to reopen bilateral channels of communication with China.
The role of Russian oil companies operating in Vietnam has so far not been raised in
public remarks by U.S. officials. Russian commercial activities in Vietnam are treated
 2

as a separate issue related to U.S. and European attempts to block financial transfers
to Russia.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “Do Russian Oil Companies Complicate U.S.-
Vietnam Relations?,” Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, June 28, 2023. All
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Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
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