Vietnam’s nuclear energy push is a strategic opportunity for the US
The Trump administration has a golden opportunity to improve its relationship with a key Southeast Asian partner.
Vietnam is resuming its push for nuclear power after an eight-year hiatus, striving to complete a nuclear power plant in just five years. To achieve this demanding goal, Vietnam has turned to its partners for funding, including the United States. But with President Donald Trump halting almost all foreign aid for 90 days, Washington is facing important decisions that will shape its influence in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam’s pursuit of nuclear energy has been historically ambitious, introducing nuclear power proposals as early as 2006. In 2011, then-Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved the National Master Plan for Power Development. The plan, intended for implementation between 2011 and 2030, approved the development of two nuclear power plants, with the first to be completed by 2020. At the time, Japanese contractors agreed to fund a majority of the first plant, while Russian companies agreed to fund the second plant. But in 2016, Vietnam postponed its nuclear power development plans indefinitely, attributing the pause to the 2011 Fukushima disaster and budget constraints.
In November 2024, Vietnamese lawmakers approved plans to resume the country’s Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, anticipating completion by 2030. With investments from state-run Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and PetroVietnam, the proposed power plant will have a total generating capacity of four gigawatts. And with only five years to build a 10-year project, Vietnam has turned to foreign aid to meet the country’s ambitious goal. Since resuming its pursuit of nuclear power, Vietnam has announced plans to meet with South Korea, France, and the United States, as well as previous nuclear energy partners Russia and Japan, to discuss foreign aid to the project.
One month after resuming the Ninh Thuan project, Vietnam inked a nuclear energy memorandum of understanding between EVN and Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom. While details of the agreement are not available to the public, the timing of the agreement demonstrates how instrumental a partner Russia is in aiding Vietnam’s nuclear energy transition. In addition to the nuclear energy agreement, Vietnam and Russia also committed to “advancing nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes,” vowing to train scientists and experts in nuclear energy.
Vietnam has also resumed nuclear deals with South Korea. On February 25, Vietnamese Minister of Industry Nguyen Hong Dien met with South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun to discuss bilateral opportunities to cooperate in energy and trade. During the meeting, the two countries agreed to strengthen collaboration on nuclear power plants, resuming working-level talks on nuclear cooperation after an eight-year hiatus.
The United States, meanwhile, is reconsidering pledged financing for energy projects across the region. Southeast Asian nations are understandably wary of how Trump’s second term will impact green energy financing. If the United States does not answer Vietnam’s call, especially in the wake of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the 30th anniversary of relations, it will deepen concerns that Washington is an unreliable partner.
Vietnam’s pursuit of greener power is also an opportunity for it to address the current trade imbalances between the United States and Vietnam, a concern of the Trump administration. In January, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son to fix the trade imbalance between the nations in the context of a nearly 18 percent rise in the United States’ deficit with Vietnam. To reach its ambitious renewable energy goals, Vietnam’s Power Development Plan 8 calls for using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a transition fuel as it builds out nuclear and renewable capacity. With Vietnam’s LNG import capacity projected to peak at 11.4 to 13.2 million metric tons per year in 2030, Vietnam could increase LNG imports from the United States, the world’s largest LNG exporter, to help offset the trade imbalance. If paired with U.S. financing for nuclear energy production, that would allow Vietnam to reach its energy goals while maintaining its relationship with the United States.
Despite uncertainty in renewable energy financing, Vietnam is still publicly pursuing U.S. funding to aid its nuclear power goals ahead of China. The Trump administration has a significant opportunity to improve the United States’ relationship with a key Southeast Asian partner, while Vietnam has an opportunity to rectify its trade imbalance with the U.S. By answering Vietnam’s call for support in nuclear energy, the United States could bolster its influence in Southeast Asia’s energy sector, while continuing to strengthen its relationship with Vietnam under its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.