Vietnam
Diplomacy is indispensable to manage the Mekong
Milton Osborne mischaracterises the Mekong River Commission when writing last month in The Interpreter that the regional organisation “ignores reality”. To say we were …
Vietnam’s “Four No’s” of defence policy are being tested
Following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February, there has been ongoing controversy over the response by the Vietnamese government, which has refrained from naming Russian…
Taming troubled waters
While regional countries respond to Covid-19 and the many social and economic consequences, ensuring peace and stability in the South China Sea has become even more important due…
How the Mekong River Commission ignores reality
Among the many “days” celebrated by the international community, one entrant seems especially incongruous. “Mekong Day” was proclaimed by the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC)…
China’s nine-dash line proves stranger than fiction
Vietnam recently banned the film Uncharted from domestic distribution due to a scene depicting an “illegal image” of China’s infamous “nine-dash line”.
This is not the first time…
Stiffening the ASEAN spine in the South China Sea
“Coalition” is one of those politically loaded terms that the sovereignty-conscious member-states of ASEAN tend to avoid – especially in dealing with disputed claims in the South…
Reading Southeast Asia on Ukraine
Southeast Asia doesn’t much matter to the outcome of a war far away in Europe. Yet Southeast Asian countries responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine offer an insight into the…
Vietnam: “Let them eat steak”
There are plenty of ways to squander good will. Vietnam’s communist party has picked an oldie but goodie, with a twist (of salt).
Minister for Public Security Tô Lâm has…
Arms control is not just about arms
Relations between Russian and the United States have been rocky since the 2014 Crimean crisis. Washington imposed various sanctions on the Kremlin in the aftermath of the…
Vietnam had seemingly conquered Covid. Then Delta spread
Ho Chi Minh City and the wider south in Vietnam finished its 24-hour-a-day Covid-19 lockdown of three months last week, allowing people to venture out to buy food rather than wait…