Politics

H&M's shop in Beijing, pictured on Mar. 24: the Swedish fashion brand drew Vietnam's ire after it was accused of posting a map on its website that depicts islands in the South China Sea as Chinese territory.
Opinion

Vietnam learns to exploit nationalist rage over Chinese maps

Netflix, Jackie Chan and H&M all fall foul of Beijing's 'nine-dash line'

9 July 2021
Men work inside a furniture factory in Ho Chi Minh City in 2006, and containers at Dinh Vu Port in Hai Phong city in 2019. Vietnam overtook China last year in furniture exports to the U.S. (Source photos by AFP/Jiji)
Economy

Vietnam's furniture sector 'nervous' over US logging probe

Washington investigates nation's timber industry and ties to illegal logging overseas

28 June 2021
People gather at Phu Tho Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City for COVID-19 vaccinations on June 24. (Captured image from Vnexpress website)
Coronavirus

Ho Chi Minh City vaccination sites trigger superspreader fears

Venues overwhelmed as officials try to administer 836,000 jabs in one week

25 June 2021
Vietnamese are watching the government's pandemic response as it struggles to secure vaccines amid a global supply shortage.  
COVID vaccines

Vietnam backpedals on COVID-19 vaccination targets

Hanoi struggles to secure doses despite launching $1.1bn fund

25 June 2021
A 41-year-old man who was exposed to Agent Orange, pictured at his house in Bac Ninh province in August 2018: time is running out for Vietnamese victims.
Opinion

In Vietnam, Monsanto is guilty until proven innocent

Chemical giant has never compensated victims of Agent Orange

22 June 2021
Vietnam's establishment of a new maritime militia unit in the Gulf of Thailand is designed to test the reaction of countries in the region, including China, according to one scholar.
South China Sea

Vietnam expands maritime militia off southern coast

New squadron of ships, platoons and light weapons debuts in sovereignty assertion

12 June 2021
With more than 6,000 Vietnamese falling ill in the new COVID-19 wave, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on June 5 launched a vaccine fund. (Source photos by Reuters and VGP)
Coronavirus

Vietnam vaccine fund secures Samsung and Toyota donations

Foreign companies heed call to donate as country struggles to contain outbreaks

9 June 2021
Health workers wait to be inoculated in March at the start of COVID-19 vaccination program in March. The country has launched a fund to finance the purchase of 120 million doses by year's end.
Coronavirus

Vietnam launches $1.1bn COVID vaccine fund: 5 things to know

South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan donors chip into Hanoi's campaign

5 June 2021
A box of Sinopharm's coronavirus vaccine: Vietnam has been the only ASEAN country not to receive shots from China.
COVID vaccines

Vietnam approves China's Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use

Supply shortage pushed Hanoi to allow doses despite Beijing tensions

5 June 2021
Many Vietnamese migrate as technical interns to Japan where wages are higher than in other Asian countries. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
Japan immigration

Vietnamese migrant workers fall sharply amid COVID-19 pandemic

Japan, key recipient, has closed borders to foreigners since mid-January

31 May 2021
Early voting has started in Kon Tum, Vietnamese province near Cambodia and Laos border.
Coronavirus

COVID wave challenges Vietnam's national election Sunday

One-party state wants high turnout for races that include first gay candidate

22 May 2021
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has told Ho Chi Minh City officials that they have to take the lead in containing the virus and in keeping the bustling city's economy revved up. (Source photos by AP and EPA/Jiji)
Coronavirus

Ho Chi Minh City demands more autonomy to accelerate vaccinations

Vietnam's economic engine asks for Hanoi's nod to tap private funds

14 May 2021
Colonial Pipeline's storage tank in Woodbridge, New Jersey: we hear on a regular basis of increasingly powerful attacks.
Opinion

Global rules against cyberattacks must be updated

Time to recognize that civilian and military targets are now perilously entwined

11 May 2021
Coastal plastic: Vietnam is among the top five countries that send litter to sea, along with China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, according to Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit based in Washington. (Source photos by Reuters)
Environment

Vietnam tests waters for plastic credits to fight marine pollution

New approach takes page from carbon trading but fears remain of 'greenwashing'

15 April 2021
Vietnam Communist party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong applauds during a party meeting in Hanoi on Jan. 31: he was reelected to an unprecedented third term.
Opinion

Vietnam restores regional balance to top leadership

Pendulum finally swinging back to the south

14 April 2021
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the White House in May 2017.
Opinion

Chinese aggression pushes Vietnam ever closer to Washington

Already rocky Sino-Vietnamese relations could deteriorate still further

6 April 2021
Pham Minh Chinh swears in as Vietnam's prime minister at an official ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam on April 5.
Politics

Vietnam picks new PM and president for next 5 years

New prime minister Chinh vows to 'inherit and promote achievements'

5 April 2021
Vietnamese Twitter and Facebook users are calling for a boycott of H&M after the fashion retailer used a controversial map of the South China Sea on its website. (Screen shot from Twitter)
International relations

H&M faces Vietnam boycott over South China Sea map

Backlash follows uproar in China over fashion retailer's Xinjiang stance

5 April 2021
A gold shop employee is dressed as the Vietnamese God of Wealth. Despite a travel agreement with Tokyo, few Japanese business executives want to visit the country because of onerous regulations.
Coronavirus

Vietnam travel bubble with Japan loses fizz as execs shun tight rules

Southeast Asian economy grows even without foreigner inflow

28 March 2021
Anti-coup protesters stand with makeshift shields during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday.
Myanmar Crisis

ASEAN neighbors call for Myanmar dialogue as violence continues

International community fears brutal crackdown leading up to military holiday

13 March 2021
Nano Covax vaccines are administered during a Phase 2 trial in Hanoi on Feb. 26.
COVID vaccines

Hanoi spurns China's vaccine diplomacy with homemade shot

Domestic drugmaker Nanogen seeks emergency approval as early as May

28 February 2021
Foreign investors and local entrepreneurs could both flee Myanmar now that the military has put itself back in power.
DealStreetAsia

Capital meant for Myanmar may seek havens in Vietnam and Cambodia

Foreign businesses also retreat from partnerships with Tatmadaw military links

27 February 2021
Jinghong Dam and hydropower station, seen here in 2013: China slashed the Mekong River's flow from this dam in January, leaving Southeast Asian communities downstream to cope with falling water levels during the dry season.
International relations

Mekong's falling water level riles China's downstream neighbors

Jinghong Dam cuts flow bound for Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

23 February 2021
Motorbike riders travel during COVID-19 outbreak in Hanoi in July 2020: Vietnam is expected to be among the first nations to achieve herd immunity.
Opinion

What Taiwan and Vietnam taught the world about governance in 2020

Quality governance the most important factor when it comes to running a country

8 February 2021
Nguyen Phu Trong speaks at the opening ceremony of the 13th National Congress in Hanoi on Jan. 26: the country's development prospects are likely to be more of the same with Trong as party chief.
Opinion

Vietnam's gray old men are losing touch with the new generation

Party rulers increasingly irrelevant to many people unaware of their actual roles

7 February 2021