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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

People of different nationalities flock to Myeongdong shopping street in Seoul. Photo: Shutterstock

South Korea

Vietnamese influx surges as South Korea’s foreign population hits record high

The Vietnamese population in South Korea jumped by 15.5 per cent last year, the fastest growing among major ethnic groups.

20 Dec 2025 - 12:32PMvideocam

Thailand

Thailand’s tourism crown slips as troubles in paradise mount

21 Dec 2025 - 12:33PM

Environment

Video | Vietnam’s recyclers risk cancer in toxic villages

19 Dec 2025 - 6:05PM

The Philippines

Philippines struggles to win back Chinese tourists as regional rivals surge

New data shows Chinese arrivals to the Philippines hit 312,000 last year, only 18 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

19 Dec 2025 - 2:15PMvideocam

Chinese tourists from Beijing enjoying Cambugahay waterfalls in Siquijor, Central Visaya, Philippines. Photo: SCMP / James Wendlinger

China trade

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

Laos could present a real challenge to other players in China’s vast durian market due to its low costs and logistical advantages.

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

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

A woman picks up plastic waste at a landfill on the outskirts of Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: AFP

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

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

Japanese schoolchildren cross a street in Tokyo. English proficiency is dropping in Japan, a fact that some critics are attributing to outdated teaching methods. Photo: AFP

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

People wearing face masks in Hanoi, Vietnam on December 4. Vietnam’s capital is advising residents to limit outdoor activities on poor air quality days. Photo: Xinhua

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

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

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

Power lines in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: AP

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

A viral social media post showing a faux wedding proposal created by an anti-drugs police unit photo in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Facebook/PC04.CATP

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

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

An aerial photograph shows extensive flooding in Kuala Simpang, Indonesia’s Aceh province, on Friday following heavy rains. Photo: Reuters

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

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

A person watches as a major fire engulfs residential buildings at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong on November 26. Photo: dpa

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

Vehicles are seen loaded on a cargo ship for export at Wuhu Port, Anhui province. Photo: Getty Images

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

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

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-controlled Scarborough Shoal is about 600km (373 miles) from the closest Chinese military base. Photo: AFP

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

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

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Vietnam

Vietnamese influx surges as South Korea’s foreign population hits record high

The Vietnamese population in South Korea jumped by 15.5 per cent last year, the fastest growing among major ethnic groups.

Thailand’s tourism crown slips as troubles in paradise mount

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

Philippines struggles to win back Chinese tourists as regional rivals surge

New data shows Chinese arrivals to the Philippines hit 312,000 last year, only 18 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

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

Laos could present a real challenge to other players in China’s vast durian market due to its low costs and logistical advantages.

.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.

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?