Vietnam’s To Lam visits Russia and France amid South China Sea tensions

Vietnam’s president and Communist Party chief travels to Russia and France this week, on a trip analysts say is designed to do double duty: shore up support for Hanoi’s claims in the South China Sea and help bankroll its bid to become a high-income economy by 2045.
To Lam’s itinerary encompasses talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before flying to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and attend an International Space Summit from Wednesday.
By engaging two opposing...