United States

China

North Korea

South Korea

Vietnam

Russia

Economics

Military & Security

Politics

North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un gave a speech on Feb. 20 in Pyongyang to open the Workers' Party of Korea's quinquennial party congress, which North Korea's KCNA said began on Feb. 19.

North Korea: Kim Commences Quinquennial Party Congress

Indonesia

Thailand

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade with the United States, lowering U.S. tariffs on most Indonesian exports from a threatened 32% to 19% in exchange for Indonesia eliminating tariffs on roughly 99% of U.S. exports and easing nontariff barriers such as import licensing and local content rules, according to a readout from the Office of the United States Trade Representative published Feb. 20.

Indonesia, U.S.: 19% Tariff Deal Includes Third Country 'Poison Pill' Safeguard

Energy

Three Vietnamese airlines announced about $37 billion worth of Boeing aircraft purchases and related financing and engine agreements as Communist Party chief To Lam visited Washington to finalize the two countries' larger trade deals and attend U.S. President Donald Trump's inaugural Board of Peace meeting, state media Bao Chinh Phu reported on Feb. 19.

Vietnam, Indonesia, U.S.: Trade Diplomacy Anchored in Big Ticket Industrial Deals

Vietnam's Communist Party chief To Lam is planning a visit to Washington the week of Feb. 16 to directly conduct trade negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump after months of deadlock over how to treat "transhipped" goods and attend the inaugural Board of Peace meeting, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 12.

Vietnam, U.S.: Party Chief To Visit Washington for Trade Talks, Board of Peace

Europe

The European Union and Vietnam formally upgraded relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam's highest diplomatic tier, according to a 60-point joint statement published by Vietnamese state media on Jan. 29.

EU, Vietnam: Brussels, Hanoi Upgrade Ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Vietnam's 14th National Party Congress concluded two days early on Jan. 23, with General Secretary To Lam unanimously reelected to a five-year term by the 180-member Central Committee, according to official announcements, which followed the election of a new Politburo and Central Committee.

Vietnam: Top Leader Secures Five-Year Term, 10% Growth Targets Set for Five Years

Vietnam's National Assembly passed amended press and state secret laws that, among other changes, require journalists to disclose their sources upon request in any criminal investigation, broadening the prior threshold of only "serious crimes," according to a National Assembly press release published on Dec. 10.

Vietnam: Media Law Amendments Deepen State Control Over Information

United Kingdom

Vietnam and the United Kingdom elevated ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam's highest tier of relations short of a military alliance, the Straits Times reported Oct. 31.

Vietnam, U.K.: Hanoi, London Elevate Ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Snapshots

Canada

Mexico

Japan

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House on Feb. 20, 2026, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Trump's use of emergency powers to implement international trade tariffs.

Global Trade

The Trump administration will use other trade authorities to replace many of the IEEPA tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court, meaning U.S. trading partners will remain incentivized to engage on trade matters.

What the Supreme Court Tariff Ruling Means for Trump and U.S. Trading Partners

Assessments

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Philippine Foreign Minister Theresa Lazaro speaks at a press conference during a Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Cebu City, the Philippines, on Jan. 29, 2026.

The coming year will test ASEAN's ability to maintain unity, manage crises and remain a credible regional forum amid rising internal security risks and a more fractured world order, particularly as the Philippines butts heads with China in the South China Sea.

Previewing the Philippines 2026 ASEAN Chairmanship

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Slovakia

Hungary

Ukraine

India

U.S. President Donald Trump (C) holds up his signature on the founding charter of the Board of Peace among other world leaders at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 22 in Davos, Switzerland.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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

The Weekly Rundown: The Board of Peace Convenes, Russia-Ukraine-U.S. Talks in Geneva

A man walks past a billboard for the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam outside the National Convention Center in Hanoi on Jan. 15, 2026. 

The five-yearly event will likely codify a more centralized, security-anchored governing model, while setting ambitious goals for economic growth and administrative reforms, though internal and external pressures will hinder implementation.

Previewing Vietnam's 14th National Party Congress

Greenland

Denmark

France

Switzerland

A sniper police officer on the Congress hotel during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on Jan. 24, 2025, in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland.

The Weekly Rundown: Davos, Europe Steps Up Greenland Deployments

Benin

Burkina Faso

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Madagascar

Mali

Niger

Nigeria

Rwanda

Paraguay

Venezuela

Egypt

Iran

Lebanon

Morocco

Qatar

Syria

Turkey

Yemen

Australia

Timor-Leste

Mongolia

Bulgaria

Afghanistan

Nepal

Pakistan

Flight routes.

Cyber

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

As 2026 approaches, we look back at the previous year and consider the top five patterns and trends as measured by geopolitical impact.

2025: A Geopolitical Review

U.S. President Donald Trump (center) poses for a group photo with the leaders of (L-R) Singapore, East Timor, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia and Laos during the ASEAN leaders summit on Oct. 26, 2025. 

U.S.-China Relations

The summit highlighted the Southeast Asian bloc's attempts to boost internal unity and economic integration amid the U.S.-China rivalry, but it also exposed structural divides and external pressures that hinder unified action and leave ASEAN states vulnerable to coercion.

The Takeaways From the 2025 ASEAN Summit

Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un participate in a ceremony at the Pyongyang Sports Palace on Oct. 9, 2025, during Lam's three-day official visit to North Korea.

To Lam's visit injects fresh diplomatic energy into the long-stalled relationship with North Korea and fits into Pyongyang's gradual reemergence as an active player in regional diplomacy.

Vietnam's Lam Extends Diplomatic Balancing Act With Rare North Korea Visit

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Uruguay

United Arab Emirates

The Geopolitics of Trade

Mercosur is increasingly opening its markets in pursuit of free trade agreements with partners around the world, particularly as U.S. protectionism shifts global trade dynamics.

The Geopolitics of Trade: What Changing Trade Dynamics Mean for Mercosur

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang answers reporters' questions about the new Vietnam-U.S. trade deal during a press conference in Hanoi on July 3, 2025. 

The deal reduces planned U.S. tariffs on Vietnamese goods from 46% to 20%, but the lack of key details also introduces significant compliance uncertainty and investment risks that could ripple across Asian supply chains. 

The Vietnam-U.S. Trade Deal Reduces Tariffs, but the Devil Is in the Details

Vietnamese lawmakers vote on a merger of provinces and cities at the National Assembly in Hanoi on June 12, 2025.

The reduction in provincial- and commune-level units will initially create bureaucratic headaches, but if implemented effectively, the changes set the stage for leaner administration, fiscal efficiency, reduced corruption and improved investment conditions.

Vietnam's Administrative Overhaul: A New Era of Governance and Investment Conditions

The impending full implementation of sweeping U.S. tariffs threatens to significantly disrupt export-driven ASEAN economies, which is driving countries to seek alternative trade partners.

The Geopolitics of Trade: U.S. Tariffs Give Impetus to ASEAN Trade Diversification

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

North Korea: Kim Commences Quinquennial Party Congress

Indonesia, U.S.: 19% Tariff Deal Includes Third Country 'Poison Pill' Safeguard

Vietnam, Indonesia, U.S.: Trade Diplomacy Anchored in Big Ticket Industrial Deals

Vietnam, U.S.: Party Chief To Visit Washington for Trade Talks, Board of Peace

EU, Vietnam: Brussels, Hanoi Upgrade Ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Vietnam: Top Leader Secures Five-Year Term, 10% Growth Targets Set for Five Years

Vietnam: Media Law Amendments Deepen State Control Over Information

Vietnam, U.K.: Hanoi, London Elevate Ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

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