By backing each other’s claims, a united Southeast Asian front would be difficult for Beijing to divide and conquer.

In the face of environmental destruction and threats to livelihoods, a new dam project is being pushed through in Laos.

Updating a colonial legacy railway might offer more than a smoother connection between sometimes tense neighbours.

Men comprise 90% of the country’s police, and a common complaint is male officers pay scant attention to women’s issues.

As chair of ASEAN and with a seat on the UN Security Council, Hanoi has a chance to turn regional attention its way.

Badly behaving Australians in Bali don’t always make good ambassadors – but perhaps their numbers help send a message.

North Korea’s charm offensive stepped up a gear when the popular and long-running TV franchise made a stopover.

<p>Coercion rather than conciliation is Beijing’s preferred tactic in South China Sea disputes.</p>

Vietnam’s economy is booming as the country plays off old enemies as new friends in technology and manufacturing.

A more prosperous North Korea is a best case, as it is always harder to negotiate with someone who has nothing to lose.

<p>Trump and Kim Jong-un will meet in Vietnam, a backdrop with history for the US&nbsp;and promise for North Korea.</p>

Hanoi has released a prominent blogger, who'd been jailed on propaganda charges, on the condition she leave for the US.

Vietnam is caught between Chinese rocks and a climate change hard place – and looks to partners like Australia for help.

Tran Dai Quang’s tenure highlighted the weakness of the presidency among Hanoi's top political leaders.

The social media platform is an American commercial legacy, adapted by locals for politics, and now mistrusted.

<p>Recent public outrage demonstrate the optics of policy making matter, even in Vietnam.</p>

Healing the rift between the current regime and many Vietnamese abroad is a cause long overdue.

Detaining enemies of the state could erode international support for Vietnam.

Vietnam has long sought to calibrate its defence posture in the shadows of great power competition.

Moscow has little to sell besides gas, oil, and military hardware – and that drives Russian policy in the region.

A crackdown on “wrong spendings” signals an important transformation for the communist regime – but Vietnamese are wary.

The kidnapping will be seized upon by Vietnam's human rights critics in Europe who will have their say when debating the important FTA.

Vietnam regards naval activity by larger nations like India and the US in the area as a useful deterrent against China.

The US President made all the right noises about new business from Vietnam.

'This is an incredibly interesting but also challenging time for Australia's Vietnamese diaspora.'

A third-party intervention serves to keeps the Hague award alive, by internationalising it.

Even now the old comrade commands respect in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s trajectory of rapid rapprochement with the US over the last two years had strategic imperatives.

Vietnam and Laos have what is described as a 'traditional friendship'. Don’t let the soft title fool you.