Author: Phan Xuan Dung and Benjamin Ho

Europe’s new “Iron Lady”, Estonia’s Kaja Kallas, is one of the strongest voices for an uncompromising stand against belligerent Russia. Brussels (30 June – 28). Having grown up under the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Kaja Kallas was urging EU leaders to take the Russian threat seriously long before the invasion of Ukraine On Saturday, the Reform Party chose climate minister Kristen Michal to replace outgoing Kaja Kallas, who is the EU’s new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The unanimous decision to nominate Michal was made following a closed-door meeting by the party’s governing board only two days after…

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit to Hanoi earlier this week may have caused some consternation in the United States regarding Vietnam’s reliability as a security partner in Asia. Given Hanoi’s penchant for strategic hedging, Washington should not overly worry about its Russian tango. Caption: President Putin and President To Lam at Vietnam’s Presidential Palace.Vietnam’s recent hosting of Russian president Vladimir Putin is intriguing as it risked irking its Western partners, especially the United States. The timing of the visit also does not bode well for Vietnam-US relations as Vietnam is appealing for the United States to recognise it as a…