Signal Vietnam Enacts Asia's First AI Law (March 2026); Singapore Launches World's First Agentic AI Governance Framework

Summary

Vietnam enacted Southeast Asia's first AI law, promulgated in December 2025 and taking effect in March 2026, with implementation phased over four years. The law adopts a risk-based classification system modeled on the EU AI Act but with fewer risk categories, applying only to AI systems deemed lawful. It was passed alongside updated intellectual property and cybersecurity laws that include AI-specific incident provisions. Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority and Personal Data Protection Commission jointly developed the Model AI Governance Framework, since updated to address generative AI. Singapore also maintains AI Verify, described as the world's first AI governance testing framework and toolkit.