As the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) moves from law enforcement into energy and tech, the line between national security and corporate profit is blurring, undermining Vietnam’s claims to market-economy status.
In standard diplomatic and economic protocols, an international energy deal is the domain of trade ministries or state utility providers. Yet, in Vietnam, a recent high-profile meeting signaled a profound shift in the country’s power dynamics.
It was not the Minister of Industry and Trade, but Minister of Public Security General Luong Tam Quang, who hosted the CEO of US-based Nebula Energy to discuss the acquisition of a 49% stake in the Cai Mep LNG terminal project.
To casual observers, this might look like cross-sector cooperation. To seasoned analysts, it is the clearest sign yet that Vietnam’s powerful security apparatus is expanding its mandate from holding the sword and shield of the regime to seizing the purse strings of the economy under General Secretary and former Minister of Public Security To Lam.
Political insurance premium
So why would a US energy firm seek an audience with the police chief rather than the energy regulator?
The answer lies in Vietnam’s paralyzed bureaucracy. The “Blazing Furnace” anti-corruption campaign has decimated the ranks of technocrats in the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and state utility EVN, leaving crucial energy projects in limbo.
In this vacuum, foreign investors have become pragmatic. They realize that in a system where fear freezes decision-making, the only entity with the political capital to push projects through and ensure they aren’t derailed by investigations is the MPS itself.
The handshake with General Quang is essentially a political insurance premium, ensuring the safety of foreign capital in a volatile political environment.
The MPS’s foray into liquefied natural gas (LNG) is not merely opportunistic; it is strategic. The ministry is currently aggressively pushing for a national data center to manage its population database (Project 06) and citizen identification apps (VNeID).
This ambition to build a digital surveillance infrastructure akin to China’s model requires massive, stable energy, something Vietnam’s current fragile grid struggles to provide.
By securing its own energy supply chains through ventures like the Cai Mep LNG terminal, the MPS is effectively building a closed-loop ecosystem. The ministry will control the digital infrastructure to monitor citizens and the physical energy infrastructure to keep the giant servers running, independent of the civilian grid’s failures.
A legal framework is being constructed to legitimize this expansion. The National Assembly recently passed amendments to the Law on Public Employees, opening the door for officers in the armed forces to contribute capital and participate in the management of private enterprises.
This effectively legalizes the concept of “khaki capital”, where security forces directly run businesses. While Vietnam has long had military-run enterprises (like Viettel), the formal entry of the police force into the private sector creates a perilous new conflict of interest, as the MPS is the primary investigative body for economic crimes.
When the referee is allowed to join the game as a player, market fairness and scrutiny evaporate. Who dares to compete with, audit or sanction a company run by the police?
Police-run, non-market economy
Vietnam is now lobbying hard for the US to recognize it as a market economy. However, the consolidation of economic power into the hands of the security apparatus suggests the opposite trajectory.
A true market economy relies on transparency, independent regulation and level playing fields. A “securocrat” economy, where critical sectors like energy and data are dominated by a powerful armed ministry, inevitably leads to cronyism and stifling of the private sector.
General Quang’s move into the energy sector is not just about securing power for data centers; it is about securing a permanent, revenue-rich cash cow for the MPS within the national economy.
For Vietnam, the risk is that national security becomes a pretext for business monopoly, and the economy becomes hostage to the very forces meant to protect it.
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, widely known as Mother Mushroom, is a Vietnamese blogger, human rights advocate, and former prisoner of conscience. She is the founder & executive director of WEHEAR, a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to empowering women, supporting exiled activists and advancing independent human rights reporting.
