Transnational Economic Connectivity of the Vietnamese Diaspora Community in Udon Thani Province, Thailand: Mirroring the ASEAN Economic Community

Abstract

This article is based on research concerning transnational economic connectivity established by the Vietnamese diaspora community in Udon Thani province in northeastern Thailand, a topic that has not yet received sufficient academic attention. The article aims to illustrate a globalization trend but with “a more perspicuous face” by providing evidence and analysis of the Vietnamese diaspora’s trans-border economic connections embedded in flows of goods and various kinds of capital between Thailand and Vietnam. Participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document research were used to conduct this study. The findings reveal that the people of the Vietnamese diaspora are active agents who engage in diverse economic linkages across borders. Their connections are facilitated by the increase in the social and financial capital that they have attained. In addition, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as a regional integration framework is an important factor that benefits the trans-border economic linkage of the Vietnamese diaspora. However, this framework does not erase the differences in economic policies among ASEAN state members, and these differences constrain economic connectivity across the borders of the community. In this way, the Vietnamese diaspora’s implementation of transnational economic activities is a partial reflection of the regional integration process.