Key Events
- Việt Nam Welcomes Myanmar’s Military-Backed Leader;
- Land Seizures Expand as Việt Nam Accelerates Development Projects;
- Derek Trần Votes Against Anti-Socialism Resolution, Citing Việt Nam Omission;
- Việt Nam Protests Chinese Construction On Disputed Paracel Islands;
- Eleven Sentenced To Death In Major Việt Nam Drug Trafficking Case.
Min Aung Hlaing’s Visit Highlights ASEAN’s Divisions Over Myanmar
Myanmar’s military-backed president, Min Aung Hlaing, arrived in Hanoi on Sept. 4 for a three-day visit to rebuild regional ties and attract investment. The trip, at the invitation of Vietnamese President and Communist Party General Secretary Tô Lâm, was his third visit to a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since assuming the presidency in April.
Reuters called Việt Nam his seventh destination, although The Associated Press listed earlier trips to India, China, Laos, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Russia. He was scheduled to hold talks with Tô Lâm, meet Việt Nam’s prime minister and National Assembly president, attend a Myanmar-Việt Nam business forum, and meet representatives of economic organizations. Myanmar state television said he landed at Nội Bài International Airport at noon. Reuters reported that the visit would run through Sept. 6.
The trip followed Vietnamese Foreign Minister Lê Hoài Trung’s visit to Myanmar the previous week, the first by a Vietnamese foreign minister since the military’s 2021 coup. Trung met Min Aung Hlaing, Lower House Speaker Khin Yi, and Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe. Talks covered trade, investment, and support for the governments. Trung reportedly pledged Việt Nam’s backing for Myanmar at the United Nations, ASEAN, and other forums and delivered an invitation for the Myanmar president to visit Hanoi, The Diplomat reported.
Min Aung Hlaing overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021. The crackdown on protests helped ignite armed resistance and a civil war. He became president in April after flawed, multiphase elections held in December and January that critics described as an effort to entrench military control. Western governments have sanctioned and shunned him and his associates over the takeover and human rights abuses.
ASEAN has barred Myanmar’s political representatives from high-level meetings since late 2021 because the authorities failed to implement the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus, which calls for an end to violence, humanitarian access, and inclusive dialogue. The government led by Min Aung Hlaing rejects the plan as interference and demands full participation in the organization.
Việt Nam maintains military ties with Myanmar. Its military-run Viettel group is involved in Mytel, a Myanmar telecommunications operator. Bilateral trade fell from $853 million in 2020 to $590 million in 2025 but reached $335 million in the first half of 2026.
Cambodia planned to receive Min Aung Hlaing. Thailand has positioned itself as a bridge. The Diplomat said these contacts reflect mainland Southeast Asian support for “calibrated reengagement,” in contrast with tougher approaches favored by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore ahead of ASEAN’s November summit.
Land Seizures Expand as Việt Nam Accelerates Development Projects
Việt Nam’s development push is accelerating megaproject land acquisitions and displacing communities, according to The Diplomat.
The report opens with Thanh, 68, who saw her home near Hồ Tây demolished in late August for the $520 million Ngọc Trai Theater project. Her 230-square-meter house was valued at more than 300 billion đồng ($11.5 million), but she received just 3 billion đồng—1% of its market value. Unfinished resettlement sites left her family of seven without housing. She avoided protests or online criticism, fearing victims could quickly become criminals.
Việt Nam recognizes no private land ownership; the state grants and reclaims user rights only to landowners. Proposed Land Law amendments, expected to pass this October, could expand the scope of compulsory acquisitions. The draft was released on July 21, allowing less than a month for feedback and no anonymous submissions.
Existing provisions permit expropriation by the Communist Party, the state, and affiliated organizations. The National Assembly may add projects deemed in the public interest through a simplified procedure. Architect Tô Kiên criticized Hà Nội’s planning process after the authorities gave residents just 10 days to review a plan exceeding 1,000 pages.
Hà Nội is clearing land for 1,428 projects. Its century-long master plan could displace 860,000 people, more than 10% of the capital’s population. The Red River Scenic Boulevard Project could affect about 200,000 residents. The Gia Bình International Airport Project would affect 7,100 households and 118 organizations, while the Long Thành International Airport Project would affect 4,600 households.
About 70% of Việt Nam’s complaints and lawsuits concern land acquisition, clearance, compensation, and management by the citizens. Although the law requires market-based, transparent pricing, local authorities effectively determine compensation.
Resistance carries risks. Police participate throughout clearance operations and monitor relocations using the national population database. Lawyer Võ An Đôn lost his license in 2018 and sought refuge overseas in 2023 after defending dispossessed residents. Activist Cấn Thị Thêu and her sons, Trịnh Bá Tư and Trịnh Bá Phương, received prison sentences following their advocacy against state land seizures.
Residents increasingly rely on social media. A Facebook group for the Red River Scenic Boulevard Project has nearly 30,000 members, while Tai Vách Mạch Dừng, a platform for victims of injustice, has 104,000 followers. Users self-censor sensitive terms to avoid shutdowns.
Party chief Tô Lâm has urged fair, transparent implementation and warned against making disadvantaged people bear unreasonable costs. Lâm has described voluntarily stepping aside for development as a brave, noble act worthy of recognition.
Congress Condemned Socialism. Rep. Derek Trần Says It Ignored Việt Nam’s Victims
Rep. Derek Trần said he voted against a House resolution condemning socialism because Republican leaders rejected language addressing abuses committed by Việt Nam’s communist government and the experiences of Vietnamese refugees.
In a statement issued Sept. 1, the California Democrat said House Resolution 1490 failed to acknowledge the economic devastation, mass exodus, and reeducation camps that followed the fall of Saigon in 1975. Trần, the son of Vietnamese refugees, represents California’s 45th Congressional District, which includes part of Orange County and a large Vietnamese American community.
Trần said his proposed amendment would have recognized the hundreds of thousands of “boat people” who risked their lives to flee Việt Nam and more than 1 million people imprisoned in reeducation camps after 1975. Republican leaders declined to include Việt Nam, he said, describing the vote as the party’s second attempt in less than a year to use a nonbinding resolution to divide the Vietnamese-American community.
The congressman also objected to language promoting the SAVE America Act. He argued that the measure would suppress voting, burden military personnel stationed overseas, and risk preventing millions of eligible U.S. citizens from casting ballots. The Republicans have promoted the proposal as an election-integrity measure.
Trần said he has consistently opposed communist and socialist governments that violate human rights. His office cited his efforts to seek the release of prisoners of conscience, including imprisoned journalist Lê Hữu Minh Tuấn, and to amplify accounts from the Vietnamese diaspora.
In April, Trần wrote to Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Tô Lâm requesting permission to visit prisoners of conscience and assess their treatment. He also introduced a resolution commemorating the 51st anniversary of Black April, the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, which marked the collapse of the Republic of Vietnam and the end of the Vietnam War. He also held a 2025 roundtable with Vietnamese human rights advocates and former political prisoners and co-led the bipartisan Vietnam Human Rights Act.
That bill, H.R. 3122, would seek accountability for Vietnamese officials accused of abuses while making human rights and fair trade priorities in relations between Washington and Hà Nội. Trần also appealed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for assistance in securing the release of journalist Lê Hữu Minh Tuấn.
Trần said human rights and democracy were too important to be reduced to a partisan exercise, adding that Congress should focus on producing results rather than political messaging on the country’s most pressing national and international challenges at home.
China’s New Island Infrastructure Could Shift The Balance in the South China Sea
Việt Nam has protested new Chinese construction in the disputed Paracel Islands after satellite imagery showed infrastructure on two features claimed by Hà Nội, raising concerns over Beijing’s expanding military reach in the South China Sea.
The developments could alter the strategic balance in the contested waters, according to a South China Morning Post report published on Sept. 2. The report cited imagery showing construction on Yagong Island, which Việt Nam calls Ba Ba Island, and changes at Antelope Reef, known in Việt Nam as Hải Sâm Reef.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Phạm Thu Hằng said Việt Nam had made diplomatic representations to China and demanded an immediate end to the activities. She said construction conducted in the Paracels without Hà Nội’s permission violated Việt Nam’s sovereignty and had no legal validity.
“Việt Nam resolutely opposes this,” Phạm Thu Hằng said, adding that the work must not be repeated.
The Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reported Aug. 14 that China had completed land reclamation at Antelope Reef. Satellite imagery showed the first signs of major infrastructure on the newly created island, including preparations for what researchers described as a likely airstrip. The runway has not been completed, and the final purpose of the construction remains unconfirmed.
Analysts said that other installations on Ba Ba Island could connect to an early-warning radar facility. If operational, such equipment could strengthen China’s ability to track aircraft and ships moving through the northern South China Sea, increasing the exposure of Vietnamese operations and reinforcing Beijing’s control over the archipelago.
The Paracels, called the Hoàng Sa archipelago by Việt Nam and the Xisha Islands by China, are controlled by Beijing but also claimed by Việt Nam and Taiwan. China took control of the entire island group after a 1974 naval battle with the Republic of Vietnam.
The latest activity adds a surveillance and security dimension to the territorial dispute. A permanent radar or communications installation could improve China’s warning capabilities and make future encounters involving military aircraft, coast guard ships, and fishing vessels more sensitive.
The report did not include a Chinese response to Việt Nam’s latest protest or confirm the installations’ intended functions. Satellite imagery alone cannot determine whether the structures will support radar, communications, logistics, or other operations.
Still, the construction underscores how incremental development on contested features can change regional operational conditions across the South China Sea. Further building could indicate that the projects are part of a broader Chinese network rather than isolated upgrades.
Việt Nam May End The Death Penalty For Drug Trafficking. These 11 Sentences Came First
A court in Việt Nam has sentenced 11 people to death in one of the country’s largest drug-trafficking cases, according to state media cited by the BBC.
The defendants were among 227 people accused of participating in a transnational network that moved drugs from France into Việt Nam. Other sentences ranged from 18 months to life imprisonment, reflecting what the court described as differing levels of responsibility within the operation.
Hà Danh Nam, identified by investigators as the network’s mastermind, was among those sentenced to death. The authorities said Nam arranged for drugs to be concealed in consumer products, including dietary supplements, laundry detergent, mouthwash, and coffee, before they were carried in passengers’ luggage or sent through delivery services.
The investigation began in March 2023, when four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants arriving in Hồ Chí Minh City from Paris were found carrying more than 10 kilograms of drugs hidden inside 157 toothpaste tubes. The substances included MDMA and ketamine.
Công Lý, a legal affairs newspaper, reported that investigators determined the flight attendants did not know they were transporting drugs. They were not prosecuted.
Local media reported that Nam recruited Vietnamese citizens living or studying in France to serve as drug couriers. Prosecutors said members of the network communicated through encrypted messaging platforms and used bank accounts registered in other people’s names to conduct transactions and conceal their activities.
Prosecutors said the operation involved transactions valued at nearly 29 trillion đồng. Around 20 defendants received life sentences for offenses including buying, selling, and transporting drugs and organizing trafficking operations.
Việt Nam is among 54 countries that retain capital punishment, according to rights organizations. The government does not disclose the number of people on death row, treating the figure as a state secret. But human rights groups estimate that more than 1,000 prisoners are awaiting execution.
The sentences come as Việt Nam considers limits on capital punishment. Last month, the government proposed abolishing the death penalty for six crimes, including drug trafficking, but the changes have not gone into effect yet.
That proposal follows amendments adopted in 2025 that removed capital punishment for eight offenses, including embezzlement, espionage, and attempting to overthrow the government.
Businesswoman Trương Mỹ Lan, one of Việt Nam’s most prominent death-row prisoners, was sentenced to death for embezzlement in 2024. Her sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment following the legal changes.
Quick Takes:
Police Arrest Deputy Health Minister On Bribery Charge
Vietnamese police arrested Deputy Health Minister Trần Văn Thuấn on Sept. 2 for allegedly accepting substantial bribes in an investigation involving medical equipment smuggling and inflated prices, The Straits Times reported.
Thuấn, 56, a prominent oncologist appointed deputy minister in 2020, is also chairman of the National Medical Council. The case centers on Việt Mỹ Medical Investment Co., whose executives allegedly imported equipment illegally and violated accounting rules. Two executives and an accountant have also been detained. The arrest comes amid President Tô Lâm’s anti-corruption campaign, which has ensnared business leaders and senior government officials.
Trần Thanh Mẫn Begins Official Visit To South Korea
Việt Nam National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn and his wife, Nguyễn Thị Thanh Nga, arrived at Seongnam Airport on Sept. 6, beginning an official visit to South Korea at the invitation of Speaker Cho Jeong Sik, Tuổi Trẻ newspaper reported.
It is Mẫn’s first official trip to South Korea as Việt Nam’s legislative leader and the first by a National Assembly chairman in five years. Talks will seek cooperation in strategic technology, renewable energy, and multilateral forums. Bilateral trade reached $89.5 billion in 2025 and $70 billion during the first seven months of 2026, up 41% year over year.
Myanmar Seeks More Việt Nam Investment In Telecom And Agriculture
Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing urged companies from Việt Nam to expand investment in telecommunications, digital transformation, high-tech agriculture, irrigation, aquaculture, food processing, and infrastructure during talks with Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng on Sept. 5, Tuổi Trẻ reported.
The leaders agreed to strengthen trade, investment, defense, and security cooperation while combating cybercrime, online fraud, drug trafficking, and cross-border crimes. They called for restoring direct flights and developing tourism products. Lê Minh Hưng invited Min Aung Hlaing to attend the CLMV and ACMECS summits in Hà Nội in November. Myanmar’s leader invited the prime minister to visit.
Tô Lâm To Visit Russia And France, Attend Paris Space Summit
Communist Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm and his wife, Ngô Phương Ly, will visit Russia and France from Sept. 7 to 12, Tuổi Trẻ newspaper reported. The Russia visit, at Vladimir Putin’s invitation, will be the first state visit by a top Vietnamese party and state leader since 1991. Talks are expected to emphasize oil, gas, nuclear energy, trade, transportation, and technology. In France, at Emmanuel Macron’s invitation, Lâm will attend the world’s first head-of-state space summit in Paris. Việt Nam hopes to deepen strategic ties with France and help shape collaborations for green transition, climate change, transportation and infrastructure, defense and security, and education and training.
