Vietnam's Connectivity and Embeddedness in the Maritime Silk Road and Global Maritime Network

Abstract

Vietnam is one of the sixty-five countries in the belt and road (BR) initialized by China and especially an important player along the 21st century maritime silk road (MSR). Moreover, Vietnam faces the Pacific Ocean and possesses an intrinsic advantage of maritime transport. Based on a big data system of port and shipping, the Vietnam's connectivity with the MSR and thus the global maritime system is analyzed by visualization and network analyzing methods. The mutual significances between Vietnam maritime network and the MSR (except for Vietnam) are derived from the flows between them; primary flows and key maritime trading clusters are discovered. Considering the global maritime network, the Vietnam's embeddedness in MSR and the global maritime network are portrayed by network analysis. In the context of the belt and road initiative (BRI) proposed by China, the alignment of Vietnam to the MSR and the world is examined. In conclusion, Vietnam is along the MSR while plays globally.