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Politics

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began their annual meeting on July 25 in Vientiane, Laos, Nikkei Asia has reported.

ASEAN: Foreign Ministers Meet in Laos for Annual Summit

Economics

Vietnam's Politburo assigned President To Lam to take over the day-to-day duties of Vietnamese Communist Party, or VCP, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who is in poor health, Tuoi Tre reported on July 18.

Vietnam: President Takes Over Duties of Ailing VCP General Secretary

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed government officials to spend 95% of the remaining 2024 state budget in the second half of the year after they only utilized 29.4% of the budget in the first half, government news agency Bao Chinhphu reported on July 16.

Vietnam: Prime Minister Directs Officials To Follow Through on Public Investment

Vietnam raised the basic salaries of government workers by 30% and pensions by 15%, state-run VnExpress reported on July 1.

Vietnam: Government Officials Get Pay Raises in Attempt To Curb Corruption

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Vietnamese President To Lam ordered the country's national police force to develop elite capacities using state-of-the-art technology and a mission focus on "revolutionary ethics," state-owned VietnamPlus reported on June 26.

Vietnam: President Orders Police To Build out Elite Capabilities in Line With 'Revolutionary Ethics'

Three out of five of Vietnam's undersea internet cables have been down since June 15, resulting in significant internet outages and telecommunications disruptions in the country, Reuters reported June 17.

Vietnam: Three Out of Five Undersea Internet Cables Disrupted 

United States

Israel

China

South Korea

India

New Vietnamese President To Lam told U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper that Hanoi wants to deepen security and defense ties with Washington, state-run Tuoi Tre reported on June 14. 

Vietnam, U.S.: New President Lam Aims To Expand Security, Defense Ties With U.S.

Hanoi declared that Chinese geological survey vessel Hai Yang 26's activities within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Tonkin were illegal and demanded that the vessel cease its activities, state-run VnExpress reported on June 7.

China, Vietnam: Hanoi Declares Chinese Survey Vessel Illegal

Assessments

A man in Hanoi, Vietnam, reads a news article on the death of the country’s top leader, Nguyen Phu Trong, on his phone on July 19, 2024.

The death of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will likely see the country's security-minded president permanently take over the role, portending a less effective business climate and strained Vietnam-U.S. trade ties. 

What To Expect Following the Death of Vietnam's Top Leader 

Mexico

Germany

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump on June 22 in Philadelphia. Should Trump return to the White House in 2025, a second term would see him target China, Mexico, Vietnam and the European Union to varying degrees.

Global Elections

U.S.-China Relations

Should former President Donald Trump return to the White House in 2025, a second term would see him target China, Mexico, Vietnam and the European Union to varying degrees.

What a Second Trump Term Could Mean for Global Trade: Who Trump Would Tariff, and How They Would Respond

Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Vietnamese President To Lam attend an event in Hanoi, Vietnam, on June 20, 2024. 

Energy

Russia and Vietnam agreed to collaborate on various energy projects, including in the contested South China Sea, but reviving their defense industrial relationship will prove more challenging.

Putin's Trip to Vietnam Yields Energy Deals, but Defense Cooperation Will Remain Constrained

To Lam is sworn in as Vietnam's president during the National Assembly's summer session in Hanoi on May 22, 2024. 

With To Lam no longer at the helm, Vietnam's sweeping anti-graft drive will likely slow. But the former security chief's promotion still primes him to assume the country's top political role in 2026, portending more scrutiny of foreign entities.

The Enforcer of Vietnam's Anti-Corruption Campaign Has Been Appointed President

The Mekong River and Tonle Sap River meet at Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The project will substantially reduce Cambodia's trade dependence on Vietnam, while contributing to China's broader geopolitical goal of constructing a global network of friendly ports.

Cambodia's Funan Techo Canal Marks a Loss for Vietnam and a Win for China

Media

Podcasts

How might recent resignations affect Vietnam's 2026 elections?

Essential Geopolitics: Political Instability in Vietnam

An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2022, shows solar panels at the Sao Mai solar energy plant in Vietnam’s An Giang province. 

Several ASEAN countries are on track to develop substantial renewable power capacities in the short term, but technical, political and financial constraints, coupled with incentives to keep burning fossil fuels, will impede long-term decarbonization goals.

The Challenges Facing Southeast Asia's Decarbonization

Columns

On Geopolitics

Australia

Fiji

Japan

New Zealand

North Korea

United Kingdom

A 3D rendering of Southeast Asia from space at night with city lights showing Southeast Asian cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

In the Asia-Pacific, countries are increasingly pursuing complex networks of political, economic and defense ties as part of a burgeoning "multi-alignment" strategy that seeks to avoid U.S.-China strategic competition.

Examining 'Multi-Alignment' in the Asia-Pacific

Then-Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong looks on during a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, on April 21, 2023.

While unlikely to yield major policy changes in the near term, the president's resignation -- the second since January 2023 -- could be a harbinger of deepening political instability in the years ahead.

Another Abrupt Leadership Change Sows Doubt About Vietnam's Political Stability

A digital illustration of the Australian and Vietnamese flags.

The decision aligns with both countries' desire to diversify their regional partnerships amid U.S. policy uncertainty and China's growing assertiveness.

The Significance of Australia and Vietnam's Move to Upgrade Relations

Snapshots

A worker is seen at an electric vehicle factory in Hai Phong, Vietnam, on July 26, 2022.

The Vietnamese government will likely only partially enforce the convention, mitigating the extra costs to foreign companies.

The Impact of Vietnam Ratifying a U.N. Convention on Labor Rights

Pakistan

Chinese officials at the Fifth Plenary Session of the National People's Congress on March 12, 2023 in Beijing. Beijing will host the annual Two Sessions meetings of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an industry and societal consultative body, and the rubberstamp National People's Congress from March 4-11.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Pakistan Selects a New Premier, China's Two Sessions

Vietnam is located on the easternmost edge of the Indochinese Peninsula, with China to the north and Laos and Cambodia to the west. Its more than 2,000 mile-long coastline abuts the Gulf of Tonkin, the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. These seas create both direct access to the wider Pacific Ocean and a critical buffer to Vietnam's long and narrow land territory.    Modern Vietnam consists of two geographic and population cores — the Red River Delta in the north, home to the capital of Hanoi, and the Mekong River Delta in the southern lowlands, where Ho Chi Minh City sits.  These cores are separated by over 1,600 miles and connected by a thin and largely mountainous coastal spine, only around 30 miles wide at its narrowest point.    Despite mountains and jungles, the northern Vietnamese core has a long history of invasion by forces from China. This almost continuous pressure from the north in part forced Vietnam's early rulers to expand the country's boundaries, first southward, to the Mekong River Delta, and then westward, into present day Laos and Cambodia.    Historically and today, the natural geographic separation of Vietnam's northern and southern cores has exacerbated the two regions' social, cultural and political divide — leaving the country vulnerable to invasion by foreign powers, whether Chinese, French or American.    Vietnam’s primary geographic challenge is to secure buffer space both on land and sea. Today, Vietnam's need for space and security in the South China Seas pits it against China, also in the throes of maritime expansion, thus adding a new dimension to Vietnam's longstanding struggle to carve space for itself against its larger northern neighbor.  

SITUATION REPORTS

ASEAN: Foreign Ministers Meet in Laos for Annual Summit

Vietnam: President Takes Over Duties of Ailing VCP General Secretary

Vietnam: Prime Minister Directs Officials To Follow Through on Public Investment

Vietnam: Government Officials Get Pay Raises in Attempt To Curb Corruption

Vietnam: President Orders Police To Build out Elite Capabilities in Line With 'Revolutionary Ethics'

Vietnam: Three Out of Five Undersea Internet Cables Disrupted

Vietnam, U.S.: New President Lam Aims To Expand Security, Defense Ties With U.S.

China, Vietnam: Hanoi Declares Chinese Survey Vessel Illegal

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