Beyond bamboo: Vietnam’s To Lam mounts a diplomacy offensive

Vietnam’s To Lam is a man in a hurry. Since claiming the nation’s top job, its most powerful leader in decades has been in near-constant motion, pressing flesh and signing deals in Beijing, Washington, Pyongyang and Moscow. His itinerary, which also included stops in New Delhi, Helsinki, Paris, London and several Southeast Asian capitals, reads less like a diplomatic calendar than a world tour – and analysts say that is precisely the point. “Where previous leaders practised a restrained,...

By Aidan Jones