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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

Environment

Video | Vietnam’s recyclers risk cancer in toxic villages

UN study finds ‘very high’ lead and dioxin levels in Vietnamese communities handling domestic and imported plastic waste, with residents reporting widespread illness.

36 minutes ago

The Philippines

Philippines struggles to win back Chinese tourists as regional rivals surge

4 hours agovideocam

China trade

Battle for China’s durian market gets even juicier as Laos enters the fray

18 Dec 2025 - 9:00AMvideocam

Food and Drinks

Mouthing Off | American cuisine better than Vietnamese, Korean? New ‘best’ list stirs tempers

The ‘100 Best Cuisines in the World’ list from TasteAtlas is angering people with its contentious food rankings. Singapore at number 90?

18 Dec 2025 - 8:15AM

Bowls of pho from Bep in Hong Kong. Vietnamese cuisine is ranked at number 16 on TasteAtlas’s latest list of the “100 Best Cuisines in the World”, one place below American cuisine. Photo: Bep

Environment

Dirty, dangerous, cancer-prone: toxic truth about Vietnam’s recycling villages

‘There’s no shortage of cancer cases in this village,’ a worker, who has been sorting plastic in Xa Cau for a decade, says.

16 Dec 2025 - 11:42AMvideocam

Malaysia

Trump’s tariffs on Southeast Asia put US Christmas gifts at risk

From Hot Wheels to headphones, new levies are squeezing the supply of Americans’ festive favourites.

15 Dec 2025 - 8:02AM

US-Asean relations

Southeast Asia barely features in America’s new security strategy

The region appears just twice in the new 32-page US National Security Strategy, raising fears it is being relegated to a ‘bargaining chip’.

14 Dec 2025 - 12:00PM

US President Donald Trump is pictured next to Malaysian flags before departing Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Air Force One in October. Photo: AFP

Japan

Japan’s English skills crash to record low, behind Laos and Vietnam

Outdated teaching methods and the rise of language translation apps have made most Japanese less inclined to learn English, educators say.

12 Dec 2025 - 8:00AMvideocam

Environment

‘I have to wear a mask all the time’: Hanoi’s smog hits crisis levels

On Thursday, Hanoi was the world’s fourth most-polluted city, with officials citing vehicles, industry, and crop burning for the poor air quality.

11 Dec 2025 - 4:44PM

Americas and the Caribbean

Mexico lawmakers approve tariff increase on Chinese and other Asian imports

The move, which still requires Senate approval, would affect goods like cars, clothes and steel from China, India, South Korea and elsewhere.

11 Dec 2025 - 2:42AM

Employees work at a steel bar factory in Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon state, Mexico, in November. Photo: AFP

Luxury Hotels

Is Hoiana Resort & Golf Vietnam’s ultimate seaside escape?

The luxury resort along the central Vietnam coast boasts over 20 F&B establishments, golf, a casino and endless activities for both grown-ups and children.

10 Dec 2025 - 2:00PM

One of Hoiana Resort & Golf’s several pools. Photo: Handout

Japan

Japan drops out of plans to build major nuclear power plant in Vietnam

Japan is not in a position to ‘implement’ the Thuan 2 project plant, Japanese ambassador says.

8 Dec 2025 - 4:05PM

Social media

Asian Angle | Vietnam’s anti-drug police are speaking Gen Z, and it’s working

Ho Chi Minh City’s police have found a way to wrap dry state messaging in viral humour, mirroring China’s digital playbook.

7 Dec 2025 - 10:30AM

Technology

Opinion | Does AI’s rise have to mean job losses? East Asia tells a different story

Studies from Vietnam to South Korea show AI adoption has not cannibalised jobs. Instead of simple mechanisation, economies are synergising.

7 Dec 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

The automated Seres Super Factory fpr electric vehicles in Liangjiang New Area, southwest China’s Chongqing, on September 19. Photo: Xinhua

Climate change

Opinion | Fashion industry must tailor climate plans to Asian suppliers’ reality

Efforts to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions in the fashion industry will not work if they rest on a Western design paired with Eastern sacrifice.

7 Dec 2025 - 5:30AM

Indonesia

Indonesia’s flood death toll hits 908, hundreds still missing

The governor of hard-hit Aceh warns starvation has become the gravest threat to survivors in remote villages cut off by the devastation.

6 Dec 2025 - 7:23PMvideocam

China exports

Waste to wealth: why China is building incinerators around the world

China’s economic slowdown has left its waste-to-energy sector without enough trash to burn. So, companies are heading overseas.

11 Dec 2025 - 11:21AM

Made in China 2025

End of an era: Japan’s Canon shuts China printer plant as local rivals rise

Closure marks a turning point, where Chinese brands have not only caught up with foreign rivals but have also begun to dominate home market.

5 Dec 2025 - 8:00AM

Production stopped late last month at Canon Zhongshan Business Machines. Photo: Coco Feng

Asean

In wake of Hong Kong blaze, Southeast Asia’s fire hazards come under scrutiny

Serious structural defects and inefficient bureaucracy tainted by corruption are common in the region, fire safety experts say.

4 Dec 2025 - 6:42PM

China trade

Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?

Across numerous sectors, China’s firms are setting up shop worldwide – and gaining ground on their well-entrenched competitors.

11 Dec 2025 - 11:21AMvideocam

South China Sea

China ramps up surveillance equipment at Spratly Islands bases: US think tank

Satellites detect new radars and electronic warfare gear at South China Sea outposts, CSIS says.

3 Dec 2025 - 8:00PMvideocam

New satellite images reveal upgrades at Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea, according to Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. Photo: CSIS/AMTI

Extreme weather

Asia’s floods kill over 1,000, lay bare human cost of climate inaction

From Indonesia’s deadliest disaster since 2018 to a state of emergency in Sri Lanka, Asia reels from a week of climate-fuelled destruction.

3 Dec 2025 - 5:45PMvideocam

People walk past the ruins of houses in a village affected by heavy flooding in Batang Toru, Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, on Wednesday. Photo: AP

South China Sea

‘Strategic’: why are drones taking off among South China Sea claimant states?

Experts weigh the merits and limits of growing pivot in the region to uncrewed aircraft and the potential for 24/7 patrols.

3 Dec 2025 - 11:19AMvideocam

China manufacturing

Factory of factories: China’s manufacturers join wave of overseas expansions

With many of their clients moving or building sites abroad, China’s factory owners are following suit, seizing a ‘last chance’ for new revenues.

11 Dec 2025 - 11:20AMvideocam

India

India’s looming BrahMos missile deal with Indonesia challenges US-China binary

New Delhi is emerging as a serious alternative security partner for Southeast Asia, offering hi-tech arms without ‘hegemonic baggage’.

1 Dec 2025 - 3:51PM

A Indian naval officer walks past a BrahMos weapon systems during a rehearsal for a Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, on January 20. Photo: Reuters

Singapore

Singapore becomes Plan B for Chinese travellers giving Japan a wide berth

Beijing’s call to boycott Japan after Sanae Takaichi’s remarks is benefiting Southeast Asian countries, travel agents say.

30 Nov 2025 - 9:30AM

Tourists take photos with the Merlion statue in Singapore. Chinese visitors say the city state is an “easy and comfortable” travel destination. Photo: Reuters

China-Africa relations

China set to benefit as South Africa looks to diversify away from US

As ties with Washington deteriorate, Pretoria is ‘determined to pursue economic diplomacy’ as it pursues new markets in Asia and Europe.

29 Nov 2025 - 4:00PM

Diplomacy

Asian Angle | The hidden domestic agenda behind Vietnam’s baffling foreign policy

To Lam’s recent pilgrimages to North Korea and Cuba signal ideological loyalty, even as he pushes a hard-nosed reform agenda at home.

29 Nov 2025 - 1:30PM

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Vietnam

.css-rcruog{color:#C79A00;}Video | Vietnam’s recyclers risk cancer in toxic villages

UN study finds ‘very high’ lead and dioxin levels in Vietnamese communities handling domestic and imported plastic waste, with residents reporting widespread illness.

Philippines struggles to win back Chinese tourists as regional rivals surge

Battle for China’s durian market gets even juicier as Laos enters the fray

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Mouthing Off | American cuisine better than Vietnamese, Korean? New ‘best’ list stirs tempers

The ‘100 Best Cuisines in the World’ list from TasteAtlas is angering people with its contentious food rankings. Singapore at number 90?

Dirty, dangerous, cancer-prone: toxic truth about Vietnam’s recycling villages

‘There’s no shortage of cancer cases in this village,’ a worker, who has been sorting plastic in Xa Cau for a decade, says.

Trump’s tariffs on Southeast Asia put US Christmas gifts at risk

From Hot Wheels to headphones, new levies are squeezing the supply of Americans’ festive favourites.

Southeast Asia barely features in America’s new security strategy

The region appears just twice in the new 32-page US National Security Strategy, raising fears it is being relegated to a ‘bargaining chip’.

Japan’s English skills crash to record low, behind Laos and Vietnam

Outdated teaching methods and the rise of language translation apps have made most Japanese less inclined to learn English, educators say.

‘I have to wear a mask all the time’: Hanoi’s smog hits crisis levels

On Thursday, Hanoi was the world’s fourth most-polluted city, with officials citing vehicles, industry, and crop burning for the poor air quality.

Mexico lawmakers approve tariff increase on Chinese and other Asian imports

The move, which still requires Senate approval, would affect goods like cars, clothes and steel from China, India, South Korea and elsewhere.

Is Hoiana Resort & Golf Vietnam’s ultimate seaside escape?

The luxury resort along the central Vietnam coast boasts over 20 F&B establishments, golf, a casino and endless activities for both grown-ups and children.

Japan drops out of plans to build major nuclear power plant in Vietnam

Japan is not in a position to ‘implement’ the Thuan 2 project plant, Japanese ambassador says.

Asian Angle | Vietnam’s anti-drug police are speaking Gen Z, and it’s working

Ho Chi Minh City’s police have found a way to wrap dry state messaging in viral humour, mirroring China’s digital playbook.

Opinion | Does AI’s rise have to mean job losses? East Asia tells a different story

Studies from Vietnam to South Korea show AI adoption has not cannibalised jobs. Instead of simple mechanisation, economies are synergising.

Opinion | Fashion industry must tailor climate plans to Asian suppliers’ reality

Efforts to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions in the fashion industry will not work if they rest on a Western design paired with Eastern sacrifice.

Indonesia’s flood death toll hits 908, hundreds still missing

The governor of hard-hit Aceh warns starvation has become the gravest threat to survivors in remote villages cut off by the devastation.

Waste to wealth: why China is building incinerators around the world

China’s economic slowdown has left its waste-to-energy sector without enough trash to burn. So, companies are heading overseas.

End of an era: Japan’s Canon shuts China printer plant as local rivals rise

Closure marks a turning point, where Chinese brands have not only caught up with foreign rivals but have also begun to dominate home market.

In wake of Hong Kong blaze, Southeast Asia’s fire hazards come under scrutiny

Serious structural defects and inefficient bureaucracy tainted by corruption are common in the region, fire safety experts say.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?

Across numerous sectors, China’s firms are setting up shop worldwide – and gaining ground on their well-entrenched competitors.

China ramps up surveillance equipment at Spratly Islands bases: US think tank

Satellites detect new radars and electronic warfare gear at South China Sea outposts, CSIS says.

Asia’s floods kill over 1,000, lay bare human cost of climate inaction

From Indonesia’s deadliest disaster since 2018 to a state of emergency in Sri Lanka, Asia reels from a week of climate-fuelled destruction.

‘Strategic’: why are drones taking off among South China Sea claimant states?

Experts weigh the merits and limits of growing pivot in the region to uncrewed aircraft and the potential for 24/7 patrols.

Factory of factories: China’s manufacturers join wave of overseas expansions

With many of their clients moving or building sites abroad, China’s factory owners are following suit, seizing a ‘last chance’ for new revenues.

India’s looming BrahMos missile deal with Indonesia challenges US-China binary

New Delhi is emerging as a serious alternative security partner for Southeast Asia, offering hi-tech arms without ‘hegemonic baggage’.

Singapore becomes Plan B for Chinese travellers giving Japan a wide berth

Beijing’s call to boycott Japan after Sanae Takaichi’s remarks is benefiting Southeast Asian countries, travel agents say.

China set to benefit as South Africa looks to diversify away from US

As ties with Washington deteriorate, Pretoria is ‘determined to pursue economic diplomacy’ as it pursues new markets in Asia and Europe.

Asian Angle | The hidden domestic agenda behind Vietnam’s baffling foreign policy

To Lam’s recent pilgrimages to North Korea and Cuba signal ideological loyalty, even as he pushes a hard-nosed reform agenda at home.

Video | Vietnam’s recyclers risk cancer in toxic villages

Mouthing Off | American cuisine better than Vietnamese, Korean? New ‘best’ list stirs tempers

Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?