Shortly after his trip to North Korea last week, Russian president Vladimir Putin was greeted in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, as an old friend. His 22-hour state visit received the highest level of reception and resulted in a number of agreements on energy and science and technology. There was also talk of the once-close allies collaborating on defence and security.
In many ways, this display of affection comes as no surprise. After all, it was the Communists in North Vietnam that won...