In this New World Disorder, you need Vietnam's bamboo diplomacy
In dealing with the world, the country's late leader Nguyen Phu Trong said Vietnam needs 'strong roots, stout trunk, and flexible branches". PHOTO: UNSPLASH
I observe international affairs from Washington, capital of a superpower which used to be the world's more-or-less benevolent hegemon, but which is now groping for a different role as a potential imperialist carving up the planet into spheres of influence.
But what if you're looking back at us in Washington from the capital of a non-major (if not 'small') power? A place, say, like Hanoi, Jakarta, New Delhi, Pretoria, Abuja, Brasilia or Mexico City – or indeed Copenhagen, Ottawa or Panama City?
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