Not an expert, but I think the whole idea of vector clocks is to provide a logical clock which defines a partial rather than total order between the events, and

Not an expert, but I think the whole idea of vector clocks is to provide a logical clock which defines a partial rather than total order between the events, and where two events are related only if they must be due to e.g. data dependencies. This abstracts away the complexities of keeping clocks in sync or even dealing with relativistic issues, at the expense of being able to order fewer events.