A scientific cooperation between France and Vietnam in coastal oceanography started in 2007 with the development of a multidisciplinary program aiming at studying the influence of anthropogenic and hydrological constraints on the diversity and functioning of the planktonic rrlicrobial trophic web in the Bach Dang estuary. This initial collaborative effort was the basis for the maturation of several other projects which objectives are: (1) to develop optical coastal algorithms in the North Vietnam, (2) to study the ecogenomics of viruses associated to corals, (3) to determine. the impact of Black Carbon on the microbial pelagic ecosystem and on vertical flux, (4) to develop a 3D numerical model of circulation, waves and sediment transport in Vietnamese coastal waters with focus on the Ha Long-Haiphong area. These French- Vietnamese programs are mostly funded via French Researc,h Agencies and the VAST, and are completed by various specific tools supporting capacity building. The goal of this paper is to give' an overview of past, present and future scientific France-Vietnam cooperation projects in the domain of coastal oceanography. A special focus will be addressed to tentatively develop a Joint International Laboratory in the field of coastal oceanography clustering the French and the Vietnamese partners in a single international structure.