Southeast Asian nations are scrambling to respond to the sweeping tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, expressing hopes for bilateral negotiations but also expressing their desire to reduce their reliance on the U.S. market. Yesterday, Asia woke to the spectacle of Trump, sitting in the Rose Garden of theContinue Reading
Vietnam this week made a number of preemptive bilateral trade concessions to the United States in a bid to avoid the imposition of tariffs by the Trump administration next week. According to a report by Reuters that cited a statement released by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday night, theContinue Reading
An axiomatic marker of a healthy society, especially a democratic one, seems to be when politicians know what the masses want and when the bulk of society can be counted on to understand what their governments say, although one has a degree of respect for the likes of Lee KuanContinue Reading
Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved the construction of a new $8.3 billion railway link connecting northern Vietnam with China, which will be paid for in part with Chinese loans. The 391-kilometer railway will run from the Vietnam-China border gate at Lao Cai-Hekou to the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. From there itContinue Reading
Thailand’s prime minister has ordered a study into the potential impacts of U.S. trade policy on Thai exports, reflecting the country’s concern about the uncertainties created by the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. Speaking after the cabinet meeting yesterday, the Bangkok Post reported government spokesman JirayuContinue Reading
In November, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh proposed to the National Assembly that the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, which was put on hold in 2016, be revived. To Lam, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also underlined the Central Committee’s strong consensus onContinue Reading
Launched in December 1986, Vietnam’s “reform” era (đổi mới) came to an end in August 2024. Domestic political events in the ensuing months ushered the country into a new era, although the coming period may turn out to be a Gramscian interregnum, when “the old is dying and the newContinue Reading
In 2024, Vietnam’s political stage was dominated by dramatic leadership shake-ups and a cascade of high-profile anti-corruption cases. As 2025 begins, all eyes are on the sweeping bureaucratic reforms (tinh gọn bộ máy) led by General Secretary To Lam of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), a bold move thatContinue Reading
