Swimmer Ai Yanhan from China took the lead in the qualifying round with two minutes 1:52 seconds, followed by Igarashi Chihiro and Aoki Tomoni from Japan, Tang Tsoi Lam Katii from Hong Kong and Shen Duo from China.
The final of the 200 m freestyle women will take place at 6pm on November 18.
Earlier on November 17, Vien set a new Asian record in the 400m individual medley with 4 minutes 37.71 seconds.
Last year, at the 28th SEA Games in Singapore, Vien clinched a gold medal in the 200 m freestyle and broke the SEA Games record with a score of 1 minute and 50.27 seconds.