
Analysts link strengthening Vietnam’s China Sea claims to Putin visit
Voice of America
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Vietnam's President To Lam pose for photos at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, June 20, 2024.
Analysts cite an effort to strengthen Vietnam’s South China Sea territorial claims as a key reason Hanoi welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, despite potential fallout from links to Moscow in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

FILE - A hangar can be seen behind barbed wire fencing at Bagram Air Base after the U.S. military left the facility, in Parwan province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, July 5, 2021. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid speaking on state-run Afghan broadcaster. (VOA screen shot) FILE - UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters fly during a military parade to mark the third anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan, in Bagram Air Base in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan, Aug. 14, 2024.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France's President Emmanuel Macron hold a meeting during a summit at Lancaster House in central London, March 2, 2025. France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepare to hold a plenary meeting at a summit held at Lancaster House in central London on March 2, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Feb. 28, 2025.

Ghana's first-ever female world boxing champion, Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey, poses for a photo after a morning training session on the beach in the Jamestown district of Accra, Ghana, Jan 22, 2025. Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey, 28, shows a photo of her match against Sangeeta Birdie from Britain, which earned her the world title and made her Ghana's first-ever female world boxing champion in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana, Jan 23, 2025.