Vietnam
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Partnerships
Indo-Pacific Endeavour links Australia with Allies and Partners for military exercises, training
FORUM Staff Legal workshops on security issues hosted in Sri Lanka recently kicked off Indo-Pacific Endeavour 24 (IPE), Australia’s five-month engagement involving 14 countries across Southeast Asia and the northeast Indian Ocean. Australian ships, aircraft and personnel deployed to individual countries for military exercises, training, workshops, and cultural and athletic activities. IPE, which runs from August to December 2024, covers…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Hanoi, Tokyo deepen cooperation with new defense agreements, equipment transfers
Felix Kim Japan and Vietnam are bolstering their defense relations in light of shared security threats largely involving maritime territorial incursions by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). New defense agreements and the transfer of two search and rescue vehicles demonstrate the progress made since the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership in late 2023. A meeting between Japanese Defense…
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Features
Expanding Horizons
FORUM Staff When 200 or so Mongolian pro-democracy activists converged in Sükhbaatar Square on United Nations Human Rights Day in December 1989, there was little to portend the transformation set to unfold. From the square in the capital Ulaanbaatar, peaceful protests would sweep across the country of steppes and deserts. Within three months, Mongolia’s communist regime relinquished power after nearly…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Beijing spreads manipulated message; Philippines, Allies and Partners strengthen security
FORUM Staff With the People’s Republic of China (PRC) facing international opposition to its coercion campaign in the South China Sea, its operatives are trying to change the narrative by amplifying a debunked deepfake video. The latest high-tech hoax targeting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — a discredited clip that purports to show Marcos using an illicit drug — was…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Vietnam joins Philippines in continental shelf claim, challenging PRC assertiveness in South China Sea
Maria T. Reyes Vietnam filed a claim with the United Nations in mid-July 2024 to extend its continental shelf in the South China Sea, a month after the Philippines made a similar move in the face of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) increasing assertiveness in the strategic waterway. Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry said the nation has “fully legal and scientific…
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Illicit Activity
Vietnam improves in human trafficking fight
Radio Free Asia For the second year in a row, Vietnam’s ranking improved in the United States’ annual Trafficking in Persons report, and the country is no longer considered among Asia’s worst for human trafficking, a list that includes the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Cambodia, Myanmar and North Korea. The June 2024 report from the U.S. State Department focuses…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Vietnam’s artificial-island building draws measured response from Philippines, other neighbors
FORUM Staff Vietnam is fast-tracking its artificial island projects in the disputed South China Sea, a move that aims to counter the People’s Republic of China (PRC), analysts say. By dredging the seabed and piling the material atop reefs in the Spratly Islands, Hanoi added more than 280 hectares of land between November 2023 and June 2024, reported the Asia…
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Climate
The Coming Storm
MAJ. AFUA O. BOAHEMA-LEE/U.S. ARMY | Photos by AFP/GETTY IMAGES Southeast Asia has recorded rising average temperatures since 1960. With climate change effects becoming more pronounced over the last decade, it is now considered one of humanity’s most crucial challenges. Based on data collected over the past two decades, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) included Thailand and Vietnam among countries…
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Partnerships
U.S.-Vietnam engagement deepens across diplomacy, defense, trade sectors
Tom Abke The United States and Vietnam, which elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2023, continue to steadily boost engagement on shared interests and security concerns. From diplomacy to trade and defense transfers, the nations are cooperating to strategically address regional security, technology supply management and climate effects, along with education and workforce enhancements. “Vietnam welcomes the…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Proposed Chinese-funded canal in Cambodia raises regional concerns
FORUM Staff A proposed Chinese-financed, 180-kilometer canal connecting Phnom Penh with the Gulf of Thailand poses economic, environmental and humanitarian concerns, and has led to speculation that the $1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal could give Chinese military vessels access to interior Cambodia and the Cambodia-Vietnam border. Cambodians facing potential displacement wonder about compensation. Vietnamese ponder the economic effect of a…
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