Pham Minh Chinh

The powerful former public security minister has been boosted into the ranks of the country's top leaders. Will the promotion come back to haunt him?

The recent prolonged absence of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong raised the question of how the Communist Party might deal with a leader's incapacitation or death.

The current stagnation could shock the ruling Communist Party into putting economic policy back into sensible hands.

With the two nations expected to upgrade their relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" this year, Canberra has an obvious choice of "special envoy."

Despite auspicious diplomatic recent developments, an upgrade of the bilateral relationship remains unlikely, at least for now.

Olaf Scholz flagged Vietnam as an important future partner in his government's plan to reduce Germany's economic reliance on China.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's visits to Vietnam and Indonesia demonstrated Tokyo's enduring diplomatic strengths in Southeast Asia.

Reported appointments suggest that informal but long-held norms have been sacrificed in order to preserve party unity.

Health rumors aside, the big question remains who will follow in Nguyen Phu Trong’s footsteps.