Vietnam

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Military & Security

Politics

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

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

China

Timor-Leste

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

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

Assessments

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

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Denmark

France

Switzerland

Ukraine

Russia

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.

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: Davos, Europe Steps Up Greenland Deployments

Benin

Burkina Faso

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Madagascar

Mali

Niger

Nigeria

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Canada

Paraguay

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Iran

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Morocco

Qatar

Syria

Turkey

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Australia

Japan

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Europe

Bulgaria

Afghanistan

India

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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: 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

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

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