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Vietnam

Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on Vietnam, covering politics, economy, society and the country's relationships with the United States, Australia, China and neighbouring Southeast Asian countries.

Capital

Hanoi

Head of State

President To Lam

Head of Government

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh

Malaysia

Can Malaysia’s ban stop global flow of toxic e-waste?

Malaysian customs recently intercepted nearly 200 tonnes of e-waste, but high shipping volumes make detection a ‘challenge’, officials say.

15 Feb 2026 - 4:00PMvideocam

Bitcoin

‘Everyone became greedy’: how Vietnam’s crypto gold rush ended in ruins

15 Feb 2026 - 2:26PMvideocam

UAE

‘Surpassing Hong Kong’: UAE challenges Singapore for the global trade crown

14 Feb 2026 - 2:00PM

Asean

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Asean should not discard the Five-Point Consensus, but translate it into a politically astute strategy of conditional engagement.

14 Feb 2026 - 12:30PMvideocam

Vote counting takes place on January 25 in Yangon for Myanmar’s general election. Photo: Kyodo

Malaysia

Malaysia smashes high-end sex syndicate charging US$900 a session

The suspected ringleader and salesmen are Chinese nationals while a Singaporean and Malaysian have been asked to assist in investigations.

14 Feb 2026 - 11:37AMvideocam

SCMP Highlights

Free Disneyland tickets for helpers; Chen Zhi’s extradition: 7 highlights

From free Disneyland tickets for Hong Kong’s helpers to China’s link to Southeast Asia, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.

13 Feb 2026 - 1:12PM

Hong Kong tourism

How Hongkongers are using a longer Lunar New Year break for travel

South Korea and Japan also popular as some residents make the most of break by taking two days of leave to enjoy nine consecutive days off.

13 Feb 2026 - 9:27PM

Travellers at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: Jelly Tse

Scams and swindles

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

12 Feb 2026 - 9:00PMvideocam

Thailand

Why tourists are choosing Vietnam, over Thailand and Cambodia in 2026

At a time when other popular parts of Asia are struggling with dwindling tourist numbers, how is Vietnam ⁠hitting record numbers of visitors?

12 Feb 2026 - 6:00PM

South Korea

South Koreans swap ancestral rites for Japan getaways this Lunar New Year

Short holidays and a weak yen drive the ‘aeroplane instead of the ancestral table’ trend.

11 Feb 2026 - 4:36PMvideocam

Tourists in traditional outfits visit the snow-covered Kanazawa Castle in Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture last month. Photo: AFP

Made in China 2025

Chinese healthcare firms expand overseas to support growing expat community

Privately owned Distinct Healthcare plans to open a clinic in Dubai, while TCM group Gushengtang eyes 50 centres in Southeast Asia.

11 Feb 2026 - 5:08PM

Distinct Healthcare raised HK$284.53 million from its initial public offering in Hong Kong last week. Photo: Handout

South China Sea

The Philippines wants to seal South China Sea code of conduct. Can it deliver?

As 2026 Asean chair, Manila has highlighted its push to finalise within its term a code of conduct covering the contested waters.

11 Feb 2026 - 6:14AMvideocam

US-China trade war

Opinion | New US-led minerals bloc renews pressure on Asia to pick sides

For Asia’s China-linked economies, the challenge is to remain open to all opportunities while safeguarding supply chains of the future.

11 Feb 2026 - 5:30AMvideocam

South China Sea

Why High Seas Treaty could change ‘rules of the game’ in South China Sea row

Effective January 17, the framework protects unique marine biodiversity and ecosystems in areas beyond any individual country’s jurisdiction.

10 Feb 2026 - 9:43AMvideocam

Scientists

Vietnam’s legendary maths genius Ngo Bao Chau to join University of Hong Kong

The Fields Medal winner and his country’s most distinguished mathematician is leaving the US and returning to Asia.

9 Feb 2026 - 5:29PMvideocam

Ngo Bao Chau made history in 2010 as the first Vietnamese recipient of the prestigious Fields Medal, regarded as the mathematics equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Photo: Handout

Tourism

Women-only travel tour to Vietnam sparks adventure and sisterhood

Amid growing demand for safe, small-group female travel, 17 women travelled with US-based AdventureWomen to explore Vietnam’s treasures.

9 Feb 2026 - 12:20PM

Belt and Road Initiative

‘Time is ripe’: why China is eyeing another vast canal link to Southeast Asia

China has almost completed the US$10 billion Pinglu Canal connecting its heartlands to Southeast Asia. Now, it is mulling an even larger waterway.

9 Feb 2026 - 9:00AM

Energy

Opinion | Vietnam’s renewed nuclear power push faces formidable hurdles

Money, corruption, a lack of skilled staff and other factors may derail Hanoi’s goal of building its first nuclear power plant by 2031.

8 Feb 2026 - 11:30AM

A nuclear power plant operating at night. Russia’s state-owned energy company Rosatom has been contracted to build Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant. Photo: Shutterstock

US immigration

‘Deported but not defeated’: the Southeast Asians cast out of Trump’s US

Born in a Thai refugee camp and raised in Texas, Kham Paneboun is now stateless in Laos, one of thousands punished again for old crimes.

8 Feb 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

India

India’s trade blitz seeks to keep afloat a sinking global order

‘Jolted out of its slumber’ by US tariffs, New Delhi is aggressively diversifying trade alliances to act as a bridge in a polarised world.

10 Feb 2026 - 8:54PM

IPO

China’s biggest pork producer Muyuan flat in Hong Kong share debut

Firm’s US$1.4 billion IPO records lower oversubscription rate than other recent listings, reflecting a cooling of the red-hot market.

7 Feb 2026 - 12:45AM

Muyuan Foods chairman Qin Yinglin (left) takes part in the company’s listing ceremony at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing on February 6, 2026. Photo: Jonathan Wong

South Korea

Outrage in South Korea over ‘importing virgins’ proposal to raise birth rate

Critics slammed a governor’s ‘crude’ suggestion to marry ‘Sri Lankan and Vietnamese virgins’ to local men as a fix for population decline.

5 Feb 2026 - 1:48PM

Nurses take care of babies at a postnatal care centre in Seoul. South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world. Photo: EPA-EFE

Food and Drinks

Dish in Focus: Ga quay Hoi An at Sep

Chef Dobee Lam reimagines Hoi An’s free-range chicken salad as a wood-fired roast at Hong Kong’s Sep, blending Vietnamese street soul with live-fire precision.

5 Feb 2026 - 12:00PM

China airliners

New brainer: China’s C929 widebody lands partner to power next-gen flight mind

After Comac secures core flight-system supplier for its widebody jet’s ‘brain’, sourcing the ‘heart’ of the C929 remains a lofty challenge.

4 Feb 2026 - 11:31PM

Malaysia

Malaysian waters see return of oil transfer by ‘dark fleet’ of tankers

A crackdown against two vessels off Penang was the first disruption of such a ship-to-ship oil transfer in the state for over 10 years.

4 Feb 2026 - 7:48PMvideocam

A transfer of oil between MT Nora ship (left) and Rcelebra ship (right) off Penang last month. Photo: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency

United States

Friend or foe? Leaked Vietnamese military document labels US ‘belligerent’

While noting that ‘there is little risk of a war’, document urges vigilance to prevent the US from finding a pretext to invade Vietnam.

4 Feb 2026 - 12:01PM

A US Marine honour guard holds the Vietnamese flag to welcome Defence Minister Phan Van Giang to the Pentagon on September 9, 2024. Photo: AP

Aviation

Video | Drunk Russian plane passenger strips mid-air

It was a sky-high meltdown aboard a commercial flight from Vietnam to Thailand.

4 Feb 2026 - 11:20AM

Hong Kong economy

Editorial | Strong export numbers underscore Hong Kong’s strengths as a trade hub

In an uncertain global economic environment, the strategy of exploring new overseas markets has paid off. But there is no room for complacency.

2 Feb 2026 - 7:15AM

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Vietnam

Can Malaysia’s ban stop global flow of toxic e-waste?

Malaysian customs recently intercepted nearly 200 tonnes of e-waste, but high shipping volumes make detection a ‘challenge’, officials say.

‘Everyone became greedy’: how Vietnam’s crypto gold rush ended in ruins

‘Surpassing Hong Kong’: UAE challenges Singapore for the global trade crown

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Asean should not discard the Five-Point Consensus, but translate it into a politically astute strategy of conditional engagement.

Malaysia smashes high-end sex syndicate charging US$900 a session

The suspected ringleader and salesmen are Chinese nationals while a Singaporean and Malaysian have been asked to assist in investigations.

Free Disneyland tickets for helpers; Chen Zhi’s extradition: 7 highlights

From free Disneyland tickets for Hong Kong’s helpers to China’s link to Southeast Asia, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.

How Hongkongers are using a longer Lunar New Year break for travel

South Korea and Japan also popular as some residents make the most of break by taking two days of leave to enjoy nine consecutive days off.

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

Why tourists are choosing Vietnam, over Thailand and Cambodia in 2026

At a time when other popular parts of Asia are struggling with dwindling tourist numbers, how is Vietnam ⁠hitting record numbers of visitors?

South Koreans swap ancestral rites for Japan getaways this Lunar New Year

Short holidays and a weak yen drive the ‘aeroplane instead of the ancestral table’ trend.

Chinese healthcare firms expand overseas to support growing expat community

Privately owned Distinct Healthcare plans to open a clinic in Dubai, while TCM group Gushengtang eyes 50 centres in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines wants to seal South China Sea code of conduct. Can it deliver?

As 2026 Asean chair, Manila has highlighted its push to finalise within its term a code of conduct covering the contested waters.

Opinion | New US-led minerals bloc renews pressure on Asia to pick sides

For Asia’s China-linked economies, the challenge is to remain open to all opportunities while safeguarding supply chains of the future.

Why High Seas Treaty could change ‘rules of the game’ in South China Sea row

Effective January 17, the framework protects unique marine biodiversity and ecosystems in areas beyond any individual country’s jurisdiction.

Vietnam’s legendary maths genius Ngo Bao Chau to join University of Hong Kong

The Fields Medal winner and his country’s most distinguished mathematician is leaving the US and returning to Asia.

Women-only travel tour to Vietnam sparks adventure and sisterhood

Amid growing demand for safe, small-group female travel, 17 women travelled with US-based AdventureWomen to explore Vietnam’s treasures.

‘Time is ripe’: why China is eyeing another vast canal link to Southeast Asia

China has almost completed the US$10 billion Pinglu Canal connecting its heartlands to Southeast Asia. Now, it is mulling an even larger waterway.

Opinion | Vietnam’s renewed nuclear power push faces formidable hurdles

Money, corruption, a lack of skilled staff and other factors may derail Hanoi’s goal of building its first nuclear power plant by 2031.

‘Deported but not defeated’: the Southeast Asians cast out of Trump’s US

Born in a Thai refugee camp and raised in Texas, Kham Paneboun is now stateless in Laos, one of thousands punished again for old crimes.

India’s trade blitz seeks to keep afloat a sinking global order

‘Jolted out of its slumber’ by US tariffs, New Delhi is aggressively diversifying trade alliances to act as a bridge in a polarised world.

China’s biggest pork producer Muyuan flat in Hong Kong share debut

Firm’s US$1.4 billion IPO records lower oversubscription rate than other recent listings, reflecting a cooling of the red-hot market.

Outrage in South Korea over ‘importing virgins’ proposal to raise birth rate

Critics slammed a governor’s ‘crude’ suggestion to marry ‘Sri Lankan and Vietnamese virgins’ to local men as a fix for population decline.

Dish in Focus: Ga quay Hoi An at Sep

Chef Dobee Lam reimagines Hoi An’s free-range chicken salad as a wood-fired roast at Hong Kong’s Sep, blending Vietnamese street soul with live-fire precision.

New brainer: China’s C929 widebody lands partner to power next-gen flight mind

After Comac secures core flight-system supplier for its widebody jet’s ‘brain’, sourcing the ‘heart’ of the C929 remains a lofty challenge.

Malaysian waters see return of oil transfer by ‘dark fleet’ of tankers

A crackdown against two vessels off Penang was the first disruption of such a ship-to-ship oil transfer in the state for over 10 years.

Friend or foe? Leaked Vietnamese military document labels US ‘belligerent’

While noting that ‘there is little risk of a war’, document urges vigilance to prevent the US from finding a pretext to invade Vietnam.

.css-rcruog{color:#C79A00;}Video | Drunk Russian plane passenger strips mid-air

It was a sky-high meltdown aboard a commercial flight from Vietnam to Thailand.

Editorial | Strong export numbers underscore Hong Kong’s strengths as a trade hub

In an uncertain global economic environment, the strategy of exploring new overseas markets has paid off. But there is no room for complacency.

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Video | Drunk Russian plane passenger strips mid-air