In March 2026, Vietnam began implementing its state-led, top-down AI law (Law 134/2025/QH15), one of the boldest moves to govern the juggernaut technology sector that any Southeast Asian government has made so far. For a country rapidly ramping up its high-tech ambitions, Vietnam’s AI regulatory measure aims to strengthen sovereign control over data flows, augment transparency, and mitigate against varying risks associated with AI. Moreover, it sets a benchmark for regulation within a region which has generally relied on voluntary compliance, as exemplified by ASEAN’s soft-law or guideline approach to AI governance.
But therein lies the rub. While Hanoi is forcefully implementing a standalone legal framework to assert control over information technology and strengthen state sovereignty, the Vietnamese government is ignoring the broader regulatory, socio-economic, and environmental implications. These include unintended consequences such as the sorts of economic dislocations and social disruptions that are inherent in such dynamic and historic transformations, although AI engenders change at exponential rates that could vastly widen already troubling societal inequalities.
Vietnam is not alone in its quest for enhanced digital sovereignty, and the stakes of the issue are high. The United States, China, Russia, and the European Union have long understood that key sectors – ranging from healthcare to energy and security – now operate on AI systems generally dominated by a handful of tech companies and the supply chains of critical minerals on which they rely. AI governance, therefore, increasingly encompasses the grand strategies of various global, national, and corporate stakeholders who are seeking to survive in a harshly competitive environment.
