Vietnam

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Politics

Vietnam's former government office chair and spokesperson for the Cabinet, Mai Tien Dung, went on trial for graft alongside eight other former central and provincial government officials, VnExpress reported on Jan. 16.

Vietnam: New Trials Highlight Deepening Anti-Corruption Campaign in 2025

United States

The U.S. trade deficit with Vietnam reached a new high of $111.6 billion in January-November 2024 and is growing, according to new trade data published by Reuters on Jan. 8.

U.S., Vietnam: Trade Imbalance Reaches New High

Cyber

Vietnam will begin enforcing Decree 147 on Dec. 25, which requires social media users to verify their identities and compels tech companies to store user data onshore and share it with authorities on demand, AFP reported Dec. 23.

Vietnam: Stricter Cyber Law Coming Into Effect Dec. 25

Vietnam's Politburo laid out a plan to reduce the number of government ministries and agencies from 30 to 21 through mergers and dissolutions, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Dec. 4.

Vietnam: Politburo Lays Out Government Restructuring Plan

China

China's coast guard allegedly detained several Vietnamese fishers, as well as their vessels and equipment, in the disputed Paracel Islands of the South China Sea, Reuters reported on Oct. 31.

China, Vietnam: Chinese Coast Guard Allegedly Detains Vietnamese Fishers

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Russia

India

The BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, adopted its summit declaration, which noted the creation of a BRICS "partner country" status, Reuters reported on Oct. 23.

BRICS: Bloc Creates Partner Status, Extends Status to 13 Countries

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

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

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U.S. President Joe Biden gestures to reporters after landing on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. 

U.S.-China Relations

Trump's more aggressive and transactional approach could deliver quick wins for the U.S.'s position in the region, though it could also strain ties with key partners. 

Trump's Asia-Pacific Approach Will Test Biden's Gains

Assessments

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) and his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Van Gang, meet at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on Sept. 9, 2024. 

Global Elections

Trump is more likely to impose tariffs to minimize the trade deficit, while Harris is more likely to call for supply chain decoupling from China -- either of which could strain U.S.-Vietnam ties.

What a Trump vs. Harris Presidency Would Mean for Vietnam

Cambodia

Laos

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

The Geopolitics of Water

Science & Technology

Amid pressing energy and geopolitical needs, the accelerating construction of upstream dams will exacerbate the Mekong River region's water shortages and environmental degradation.

The Geopolitics of Water: National Interests Sideline Environmental Concerns in the Mekong River Region

Brunei Darussalam

Myanmar

Singapore

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

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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Comoros

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Palestinian Territories

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.

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

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

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: New Trials Highlight Deepening Anti-Corruption Campaign in 2025

U.S., Vietnam: Trade Imbalance Reaches New High

Vietnam: Stricter Cyber Law Coming Into Effect Dec. 25

Vietnam: Politburo Lays Out Government Restructuring Plan

China, Vietnam: Chinese Coast Guard Allegedly Detains Vietnamese Fishers

BRICS: Bloc Creates Partner Status, Extends Status to 13 Countries

Vietnam: Army General Appointed President

Vietnam, France: Hanoi Elevates Ties With Another Former Adversary

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