Currently, analyses on motivations of Vietnams maritime power development after the cold war are not comprehensive, which should be fully explained by the combination of two factors: cognition and implementation. At the cognitive level, the historical memory between China and Vietnam has strengthened the Vietnamese cognition of threat, pushing Vietnam to exercise restraints upon China in resorting to the expansion of sea power. Based on incentives in execution, Vietnamese maritime forces can play a deterrent role in law enforcement conflicts, crises or limited armed conflicts, with the aim to confront China‘s protection of maritime rights in the South China Sea. At the same time, Vietnam’s maritime power development is also inspired by the international landscape. As a result of the support of the United States and China‘s restraint policy, the development of Vietnams maritime power gains positive feedback of geopolitical environment, and avoids negative feedback in economic development. Therefore, the aforementioned motivations provide necessary

conditions for the expansion of Vietnam’s maritime power.