Vietnam

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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

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

China

Timor-Leste

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Economics

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 upgrade at the ASEAN leaders' summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Channel News Asia reported on Oct. 28. 

China, ASEAN: Trade Pact Upgrade To Expand Bloc's Market Access

United States

The United States and Malaysia signed a reciprocal trade pact that leaves in place Washington's 19% tariff rate on Malaysian goods but grants zero-tariff carveouts for more than 1,700 Malaysian export categories and "favorable consideration on semiconductors," while securing Malaysian commitments not to restrict exports of critical minerals (including rare earths) and magnets, The Straits Times reported on Oct. 26. 

U.S., Malaysia, Vietnam: Washington Secures Critical Minerals, Market Access

North Korea

Vietnamese Communist Party chief To Lam met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, where both pledged to deepen Party, parliamentary and local exchanges; expand cooperation in culture, education, health, tourism and communications; and coordinate more closely in multilateral forums, Bao Chinh Phu reported on Oct. 9.

Vietnam, North Korea: Lam, Kim Hold Talks in Pyongyang

Vietnam's top leader, Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, will visit North Korea in October and meet with leader Kim Jong Un, according to two Vietnamese officials quoted by Reuters on Sept. 25.

Vietnam, North Korea: Vietnamese Leader To Visit Pyongyang for First Time Since 2007

Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security circulated a draft decree requiring expanded security vetting of investment projects across sectors including energy, telecommunications, industrial parks and even golf courses, Reuters reported on Sept. 18.

Vietnam: Draft Decree Expands Police Power Over Investment Projects

China condemned Vietnam after the U.S. think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative published new research demonstrating that Hanoi has sharply accelerated island building in the contested Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, with Beijing declaring the area "inherent Chinese territory," the South China Morning Post reported Aug. 25. 

Vietnam, China: Beijing Condemns Vietnamese Island Building in South China Sea

South Korea

Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung agreed to expand bilateral trade from $86.8 billion in 2024 to $150 billion by 2030, signing 10 memorandums of understanding covering nuclear and sustainable energy, high-speed rail, finance and technology cooperation, Nikkei Asia reported on Aug. 11.

Vietnam, South Korea: Countries To Boost Trade, Investment and Defense Ties

Assessments

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. 

Global Trade

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

Snapshots

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

Canada

Paraguay

Uruguay

Venezuela

Lebanon

United Arab Emirates

Japan

Europe

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

France

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press briefing during his trip to Singapore on May 30, 2025. 

Energy

The deals reached with Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam expand France's role in Southeast Asia amid shifting global trade and defense dynamics, a welcome development for a region increasingly pinned between the U.S. and China.

Macron's Southeast Asia Tour Deepens French Footprint in the Region

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Kazakhstan

Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam (L) address journalists following their talks in Moscow, Russia, on May 10, 2025, during celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. 

Vietnam is strengthening its relationships with Eurasian countries, especially Russia, as it looks to further diversify economic and energy ties away from great powers amid an unstable geopolitical landscape.

Russia-Vietnam Ties Are Set To Grow Following Lam's Eurasia Tour

Ecuador

Iran

Italy

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, on March 11, 2025. 

U.S.-Iran Relations

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

The Weekly Rundown: Xi Tours Southeast Asia, Iran-U.S. Nuclear Talks Begin

Vietnamese garment workers stitch apparel at a factory in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on April 3, 2025, after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs on trading partners.

If the 46% U.S. tariff on Vietnamese goods remains in place, it will quickly destabilize the country's export-reliant economy, creating substantial risks that could compel Hanoi to deepen its reliance on China.

Trump's Tariffs Pose a Structural Threat to Vietnam's Economy

Mexico

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs as U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick holds a chart during an event in the Rose Garden entitled ''Make America Wealthy Again'' at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2025. 

Trump's sweeping new tariffs will slow both U.S. and global economic growth, with lower-income Americans and emerging markets like Vietnam being hit hardest.

The U.S. Launches the Largest Trade War in Modern History

Israel

Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a joint press conference Feb. 16 at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem. Senior Israeli officials from the security and intelligence ministries will visit the United States to discuss Iran's nuclear program and Israeli border demarcation talks with Lebanon.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: The U.S. and Israel Coordinate on Iran, the U.K. Chancellor Seeks Fiscal Discipline

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

China, ASEAN: Trade Pact Upgrade To Expand Bloc's Market Access

U.S., Malaysia, Vietnam: Washington Secures Critical Minerals, Market Access

Vietnam, North Korea: Lam, Kim Hold Talks in Pyongyang

Vietnam, North Korea: Vietnamese Leader To Visit Pyongyang for First Time Since 2007

Vietnam: Draft Decree Expands Police Power Over Investment Projects

Vietnam, China: Beijing Condemns Vietnamese Island Building in South China Sea

Vietnam, South Korea: Countries To Boost Trade, Investment and Defense Ties

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