TOPIC

/ location

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

A protester holds a sign during a rally on a road leading to the US embassy in Manila on July 13, expressing opposition to Philippines-US defence agreements and the US-led Pax Silica initiative. Photo: EPA

The Philippines

Will Philippines win race to secure Pax Silica hub before neighbours do?

Top diplomat warns Manila risks losing out on the opportunity if it ‘drops the ball’, even as environmental and sovereignty concerns grow.

12 Aug 2026 - 6:09PM

Defence

Vietnam’s To Lam eyes trade, defence boost during trip to Australia, New Zealand

12 Aug 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

SCMP Highlights

Malaysia’s Liow released; Lee Kuan Yew’s pen up for auction: 7 Asia highlights

11 Aug 2026 - 12:37PM

Asean

US swaps ideology for ‘flexible realism’ and deterrence in Southeast Asia

Pentagon’s Colby urges allies to invest more in defence as Washington prioritises pragmatic Indo-Pacific partnerships over moral values.

11 Aug 2026 - 12:00PMvideocam

Troops from New Zealand, Philippines, the US and Australia pose with their national flags after taking part in live-fire exercises in the Philippines. Photo: Reuters

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong, Malaysia set for ‘deeper ties in semiconductor making, other sectors’

Trade Development Council chairman Frederick Ma makes comment as he joins Hong Kong’s biggest delegation to Malaysia to date for conference.

11 Aug 2026 - 5:50AM

Belt and Road Initiative

China completes milestone test of US$10.8 billion canal link to Southeast Asia

Patrol vessel’s full run along Pinglu Canal moves megaproject closer to a planned September launch.

10 Aug 2026 - 5:30PM

Indonesia

Indonesia’s strong GDP data prompts ‘resilient but uneven’ growth forecasts

While manufacturing and household spending rose in Q2, growth expectations are tempered by a decline in the mining and trade sectors.

10 Aug 2026 - 8:07AM

Containers being stacked at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta. Photo: AP

Japan

Vietnam pays the price at home for sending workers abroad

Between 130,000 and 150,000 Vietnamese go abroad to work annually, leaving seafood and garment sectors scrabbling for labourers.

9 Aug 2026 - 2:39PMvideocam

Hong Kong workers/labour rights

How a Hong Kong charity is using AI to help migrant workers tackle exploitation

Migrasia says AI chatbot PoBot serves as centralised call centre, providing instant support and gathering data to identify patterns of abuse.

8 Aug 2026 - 8:59PM

China trade

Opinion | Why China’s trade partners may question value of economic integration

Both Beijing and its economic partners must ask whether expanding trade strengthens domestic productive capacity and improves long-term competitiveness.

7 Aug 2026 - 5:17PMvideocam

Shipping containers are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China’s eastern Jingsu province, early on June 9. Photo: AFP

Macau

Video | Vietnamese coffee syndicate scams over 200 Hong Kong people

Promoting itself as the world’s first ‘sports-value-ecosystem’, the enterprise entered Hong Kong last year claiming assets of more than US$1 billion.

5 Aug 2026 - 7:30PM

(L-R)Senior Inspector of Police WONG Sze-ki, Fraud Division, Commercial Crime Bureau; and Acting superintendent Lo Yuen‑shan, attend the media briefing. Hong Kong and Macau law enforcement have arrested nine people, including six in the city, in a bust against an investment scam syndicate that cheated at least 250 people out of nearly HK$100 million in the name of a coffee philosophy, claiming ties to farms in Vietnam and Ethiopia. 04AUG26 Photo: handout

02:28

US-China trade war

Strong as steel: Trump tariffs spark a US production increase

US steel production rose 7 per cent year on year through July, with the country rising to be the world’s third-largest producer in 2025.

5 Aug 2026 - 8:35AM

Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Macau police arrest 8 over HK$100m Vietnam coffee investment scam

Fun Coffee established presence in Hong Kong last year, claiming to be a coffee investment enterprise with assets of more than US$1 billion.

5 Aug 2026 - 7:36PMvideocam

The Philippines

Will Philippines’ push for seabed rights derail South China Sea code talks?

Analysts say Manila’s move could make it harder for Asean to agree on a common position regarding the code of conduct.

3 Aug 2026 - 9:55PMvideocam

The Philippine delegation on the presentation of its partial submission concerning the country’s entitlement to an extended continental shelf, together with the members of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on July 29. Photo: Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs

Jewellery

In Vietnam, diamonds are not forever after smuggling ring bust

Investigators allege more than 30,000 stones worth over US$57 million were brought into the country over the past two years.

3 Aug 2026 - 11:21AM

People ride past a Phu Nhuan Jewellery store in Hanoi on July 15, 2026. Photo: AFP

Asean

What Turkey’s upgrade to Asean dialogue partner status means

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan calls the development ‘of utmost importance’ in its relationship with Asia-Pacific countries.

3 Aug 2026 - 10:00AM

US-China relations

Opinion | Will US or China win the next war? That’s the wrong question to ask

We should be asking how we can avoid conflict and work towards ending mutual threats, such as climate change and human injustice.

1 Aug 2026 - 5:30AMvideocam

United States

As I see it | Despite immense power, the US delivers neither butter nor bullets

While Americans know they can’t get the welfare benefits they need, their leaders must realise their military can’t give them world domination.

31 Jul 2026 - 8:30PMvideocam

US Army soldiers cross a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river-crossing exercise with South Korea as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 20, 2025. Photo: AP

China exports

China’s surgical robots break into Vietnam as Beijing targets US dominance

Shipments to Asean have surged 246% this year as cross-border healthcare platforms pave way for manufacturers to challenge US giants like Intuitive Surgical.

31 Jul 2026 - 10:00AMvideocam

China trade

Opinion | China’s exports feed the Global South’s industrial engines

Far from stifling development, China’s export portfolio indicates a positive-sum diffusion of industrial growth.

31 Jul 2026 - 5:30AMvideocam

South China Sea

‘Negotiation fatigue’ risks stalling South China Sea code of conduct progress

Efforts to finalise the code between Asean and China this year are hampered to a large extent by differences between Manila and Beijing.

30 Jul 2026 - 4:25PMvideocam

Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Theresa Lazaro meets China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Pasay last Wednesday. Photo: EPA

US-Asean relations

Inside America’s US$1.5 billion play for Southeast Asian energy

Gas exports and mini reactors serve US interests as much as Asia’s – provided promised projects actually lead anywhere.

29 Jul 2026 - 7:00PM

A power plant and transmission lines in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam. The International Development Finance Corporation has reportedly held talks with Vietnam on grid modernisation. Photo: AP

US military

Vietnam to host US aircraft carrier despite Trump’s tariffs, Iran war chaos

A 79-year-old veteran of war with America sees the carrier’s visit as proof of how far relations have come.

29 Jul 2026 - 4:15PM

Mainland China

Video | China saves 47 Vietnamese sailors after ship sinks

Chinese vessels and a search helicopter saved 47 sailors after their ship went under in bad weather.

27 Jul 2026 - 9:31PM

Hong Kong science and tech

Black Lake CEO’s strategy to sell AI solutions to factories: turn to food couriers

Tech company founder Zhou Yuxiang sits down with the South China Morning Post for his first interview with a Hong Kong media outlet.

27 Jul 2026 - 10:00AM

Zhou Yuxiang, founder and CEO of Black Lake Technologies. Photo: Nora Tam

South China Sea

Search for survivors continues after cargo ship sinks in South China Sea

State media reported 17 Vietnamese crew members were missing after Saturday night’s accident near Fiery Cross Reef.

27 Jul 2026 - 10:44PMvideocam

Some of the survivors were picked up from life rafts. Photo: CCTV

Luxury travel

Review | Zannier Bai San Ho offers European luxury with a Vietnamese twist

The resort on Vietnam’s central coast was founded by French hotelier Arnaud Zannier, whose other properties have played host to celebrities like Angelina Jolie.

30 Jul 2026 - 1:19PM

Asean

Why new US tariffs threaten Trump government’s credibility in Asean

The additional duties come just a day after Marco Rubio tells Southeast Asian foreign ministers that the US is ‘with Asean 100 per cent’.

26 Jul 2026 - 11:30AMvideocam

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Vietnam

Will Philippines win race to secure Pax Silica hub before neighbours do?

Top diplomat warns Manila risks losing out on the opportunity if it ‘drops the ball’, even as environmental and sovereignty concerns grow.

Vietnam’s To Lam eyes trade, defence boost during trip to Australia, New Zealand

Malaysia’s Liow released; Lee Kuan Yew’s pen up for auction: 7 Asia highlights

US swaps ideology for ‘flexible realism’ and deterrence in Southeast Asia

Pentagon’s Colby urges allies to invest more in defence as Washington prioritises pragmatic Indo-Pacific partnerships over moral values.

Hong Kong, Malaysia set for ‘deeper ties in semiconductor making, other sectors’

Trade Development Council chairman Frederick Ma makes comment as he joins Hong Kong’s biggest delegation to Malaysia to date for conference.

China completes milestone test of US$10.8 billion canal link to Southeast Asia

Patrol vessel’s full run along Pinglu Canal moves megaproject closer to a planned September launch.

Indonesia’s strong GDP data prompts ‘resilient but uneven’ growth forecasts

While manufacturing and household spending rose in Q2, growth expectations are tempered by a decline in the mining and trade sectors.

Vietnam pays the price at home for sending workers abroad

Between 130,000 and 150,000 Vietnamese go abroad to work annually, leaving seafood and garment sectors scrabbling for labourers.

How a Hong Kong charity is using AI to help migrant workers tackle exploitation

Migrasia says AI chatbot PoBot serves as centralised call centre, providing instant support and gathering data to identify patterns of abuse.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | Why China’s trade partners may question value of economic integration

Both Beijing and its economic partners must ask whether expanding trade strengthens domestic productive capacity and improves long-term competitiveness.

.css-1f6sr3w{color:#727272;}Video | Vietnamese coffee syndicate scams over 200 Hong Kong people

Promoting itself as the world’s first ‘sports-value-ecosystem’, the enterprise entered Hong Kong last year claiming assets of more than US$1 billion.

Strong as steel: Trump tariffs spark a US production increase

US steel production rose 7 per cent year on year through July, with the country rising to be the world’s third-largest producer in 2025.

Hong Kong, Macau police arrest 8 over HK$100m Vietnam coffee investment scam

Fun Coffee established presence in Hong Kong last year, claiming to be a coffee investment enterprise with assets of more than US$1 billion.

Will Philippines’ push for seabed rights derail South China Sea code talks?

Analysts say Manila’s move could make it harder for Asean to agree on a common position regarding the code of conduct.

In Vietnam, diamonds are not forever after smuggling ring bust

Investigators allege more than 30,000 stones worth over US$57 million were brought into the country over the past two years.

What Turkey’s upgrade to Asean dialogue partner status means

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan calls the development ‘of utmost importance’ in its relationship with Asia-Pacific countries.

Opinion | Will US or China win the next war? That’s the wrong question to ask

We should be asking how we can avoid conflict and work towards ending mutual threats, such as climate change and human injustice.

As I see it | Despite immense power, the US delivers neither butter nor bullets

While Americans know they can’t get the welfare benefits they need, their leaders must realise their military can’t give them world domination.

China’s surgical robots break into Vietnam as Beijing targets US dominance

Shipments to Asean have surged 246% this year as cross-border healthcare platforms pave way for manufacturers to challenge US giants like Intuitive Surgical.

Opinion | China’s exports feed the Global South’s industrial engines

Far from stifling development, China’s export portfolio indicates a positive-sum diffusion of industrial growth.

‘Negotiation fatigue’ risks stalling South China Sea code of conduct progress

Efforts to finalise the code between Asean and China this year are hampered to a large extent by differences between Manila and Beijing.

Inside America’s US$1.5 billion play for Southeast Asian energy

Gas exports and mini reactors serve US interests as much as Asia’s – provided promised projects actually lead anywhere.

Vietnam to host US aircraft carrier despite Trump’s tariffs, Iran war chaos

A 79-year-old veteran of war with America sees the carrier’s visit as proof of how far relations have come.

Video | China saves 47 Vietnamese sailors after ship sinks

Chinese vessels and a search helicopter saved 47 sailors after their ship went under in bad weather.

Black Lake CEO’s strategy to sell AI solutions to factories: turn to food couriers

Tech company founder Zhou Yuxiang sits down with the South China Morning Post for his first interview with a Hong Kong media outlet.

Search for survivors continues after cargo ship sinks in South China Sea

State media reported 17 Vietnamese crew members were missing after Saturday night’s accident near Fiery Cross Reef.

Review | Zannier Bai San Ho offers European luxury with a Vietnamese twist

The resort on Vietnam’s central coast was founded by French hotelier Arnaud Zannier, whose other properties have played host to celebrities like Angelina Jolie.

Why new US tariffs threaten Trump government’s credibility in Asean

The additional duties come just a day after Marco Rubio tells Southeast Asian foreign ministers that the US is ‘with Asean 100 per cent’.

Opinion | Why China’s trade partners may question value of economic integration

Video | Vietnamese coffee syndicate scams over 200 Hong Kong people