The East Sea Institute was officially established by the Prime Minister under Decision No. 29/2012/QĐ-TTg dated 12 July 2012 (effective from 1 September 2012). Its predecessor was the East Sea Research Program, which was later upgraded to the East Sea Research Center under the Institute for Strategic Studies of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (Decision No. 635/QĐ-BNG dated 14 December 2010 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs).