Vietnam

Politics

Vietnam's National Assembly unanimously elected army Gen. Luong Cuong as the country's next president, making him the fourth president of Vietnam since 2023, government newspaper Bao Chinh Phu reported on Oct. 21. 

Vietnam: Army General Appointed President

France

Economics

Military & Security

Vietnam and France upgraded bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, or CSP, Nikkei Asia reported on Oct. 8.

Vietnam, France: Hanoi Elevates Ties With Another Former Adversary

China

On Sept. 30, around 40 Chinese maritime militia members boarded a Vietnamese fishing boat, beat its crew of 10 with metal pipes, and confiscated its catch and equipment in the Paracel Islands of the disputed South China Sea, Reuters reported on Oct. 2.

China, Vietnam: Video Surfaces of Boarding, Beating in South China Sea

Cambodia

Laos

Cambodia is withdrawing from the 1999 Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle, Prime Minister Hun Manet announced, citing public order concerns and conceding to protesters he described as "extremists," the South China Morning Post reported on Sept. 25.

Cambodia: Pullout From Development Pact Risks Harming Relations With Neighbors

India

India will implement tariffs ranging from 12% to 30% on certain steel products imported from China and Vietnam, Reuters reported Sept. 11, citing a directive from the Indian Ministry of Finance.

India: Country to Impose Tariffs From 12% to 30% on Select Steel Imports From China, Vietnam

Philippines

The Philippines and Vietnam committed to signing a maritime defense cooperation agreement before the end of 2024, Rappler reported on Aug. 30. 

Philippines, Vietnam: Countries To Sign Defense Cooperation Agreement by End of Year

Australia

Brunei Darussalam

Indonesia

Japan

Malaysia

Singapore

Thailand

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Ministers from the 11-country Asia Zero Emissions Community, or AZEC, agreed to establish an Asian supply chain for sustainable fuel at a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nikkei Asia reported on Aug. 21.

Asia-Pacific: AZEC Countries To Collaborate on Sustainable Fuel Supply Chains

Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam will visit his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, on Aug. 18-20, the South China Morning Post reported on Aug. 15.

China, Vietnam: New Party Chief To Visit Beijing in First Overseas Trip

Assessments

Myanmar

Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (center) and other ASEAN leaders take part in the 2024 ASEAN summit in Vientiane on Oct. 9, 2024. 

The deals signed at the summit reflect an increasing focus on economic integration amid the Southeast Asian bloc's continued failure to find consensus on security issues.

Reviewing the 2024 ASEAN Summit

United States

The flags of ASEAN members are displayed at a naval base during the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in Batam, Natuna regency, Riau Islands province, Indonesia, on Sept. 20, 2023. 

ASEAN's economic and geopolitical diversity will impede significant progress toward deeper integration, despite members' intention to collaborate more closely.

Economic and Geopolitical Diversity Hinders ASEAN's Path to Deeper Integration

Angola

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Israel

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Qatar

Yael Braun-Pivet, a French lawmaker for the ruling Renaissance party, delivers a speech after being reelected as National Assembly president following the third round of voting on July 18, 2024.

Israel-Hamas 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: France Resumes Political Horse-Trading, Blinken Returns to Middle East

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. 

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

Fiji

New Zealand

North Korea

South 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

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

Vietnam: Army General Appointed President

Vietnam, France: Hanoi Elevates Ties With Another Former Adversary

China, Vietnam: Video Surfaces of Boarding, Beating in South China Sea

Cambodia: Pullout From Development Pact Risks Harming Relations With Neighbors

India: Country to Impose Tariffs From 12% to 30% on Select Steel Imports From China, Vietnam

Philippines, Vietnam: Countries To Sign Defense Cooperation Agreement by End of Year

Asia-Pacific: AZEC Countries To Collaborate on Sustainable Fuel Supply Chains

China, Vietnam: New Party Chief To Visit Beijing in First Overseas Trip

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