The Vietnamese government has begun to relax the severe social distancing measures to allow the country to begin a new recovery phase. The careful management of the health emergency by the authorities seems to be having its effects, offering a significant advantage to the Vietnamese economy.

Despite the impact of the pandemic, Vietnam is expected to be the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia this year. The government has intervened with a credit support package of more than $10 billion and growth is expected to pick up strongly in the coming years.

Japanese electronics company NEC has won a contract worth about 190 million dollars to supply a radar satellite to Vietnam. The Vietnamese authorities are therefore looking at Japan for support in the development of satellite production and management systems.

Vietnam lodged a formal protest after Beijing announced the establishment of two new administrative units in the South China Sea islands. The Vietnamese authorities are urging China to respect Vietnam's sovereignty and not to violate international law

The Vietnamese textile sector is struggling with a sudden drop in orders that could have serious consequences for large clothing manufacturers. If the health emergency continues for a long time, many manufacturing companies may go bankrupt, giving Vietnam, but also the global value chains of fast fashion giants like Zara and H&M, an hard time

Through social and TV campaigns, massive use of tests and apps to control movements, the Vietnamese authorities are successfully managing the health emergency. An interesting article in La Repubblica analyzes this model.

Former Singapore foreign affairs minister George Yeo believes Vietnam, as Asean chair, needs to bring calm to the South China Sea dispute. Asean countries should remain neutral amid the US-China trade war and seize opportunities from their decoupling.

The United Kingdom's minister for Asia and the Pacific, Heather Wheeler, opens the UK Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta. She was accompanied by UK Ambassador to Indonesia Owen Jenkins and UK Ambassador to ASEAN Jon Lambe. The United Kingdom has expressed hope of attending future ASEAN meetings as the country doubles down on its ambition to be a dialogue partner with the Southeast Asian grouping after Brexit.

Southeast Asia is an arena for great power competition, in which Southeast Asians are not adequately respected or appreciated. U.S.-China competition has deepened this trend in recent years, as Southeast Asian countries are being asked to choose sides.

China's trade volume with ASEAN climbed 14.1 percent to 4.43 trillion yuan (about $642.7 billion) last year. The European Union remained China's biggest trading partner with an 8-percent year-on-year growth to 4.86 trillion yuan in bilateral trade, while the United States ranked third with a 10.7-percent fall over 2018 to 3.73 trillion yuan.

Three priority orientations in the economic pillar of ASEAN in 2020 were revealed during the first meeting of ASEAN Senior Economic Officials in 2020. In line with the year’s theme of 'Cohesive and Responsive', the three orientations call for bolstering intra-regional economic linkages and connectivity; promoting partnership for peace and sustainable development; and improving the adaptability and operational efficiency of the ASEAN apparatus.

Southeast Asia has been one of the most dynamic economic regions in the world over the past decade. A key driver of ASEAN’s strong growth over the past decade has been the rapid growth in bilateral trade with China. China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner in the past 10 years, with bilateral trade reaching US$292 billion in the first half of 2019.

China has a lot to offer the ambitious Asean Smart City Network project and has pledged to share its experience and technology. However, the rise of anti-China sentiment in Asean over South China Sea tensions and unpopular Mekong dam projects may hinder cooperation.

Vietnam will enjoy the fastest economic growth in Southeast Asia in 2020, according to a new forecast from British multinational investment bank HSBC. Vietnam has been a beneficiary of the China-U.S. trade war, enjoying a boost in services and exports that should drive economic growth to 7% this year.

Enterprise Singapore, a government agency under the Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry, provides insights and advices to foreign SMEs.

For a good part of the post-Cold War period, ASEAN enjoyed relative success as the central multilateral organisation in its region. Its expansion through the late 1990s, as well as its inclusive approach towards non-ASEAN powers, helped it become the main convener of multilateral dialogue and cooperative platforms in the wider Asia Pacific.

South-east Asia, a diverse and dynamic region with a young and energetic population, is gearing up for its third economic transformation since the second world war. After racing to become self-sufficient, the area is now on the cusp of another change powered by technology.

At the start of the year, Hanoi is wasting little time to shine a global spotlight on its position, prestige, and responsibility as the new chair of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.