Friday Briefing: Vladimir Putin Visits Vietnam

Putin visits Vietnam after North Korea

President Vladimir Putin of Russia visited Vietnam yesterday, a day after meeting North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, in Pyongyang.

There were no major breakthroughs, but the visit offered Russia a veneer of international legitimacy as its isolation grows over the invasion of Ukraine.

Putin and Vietnamese leaders walked a careful line. The countries have a shared communist history, and Moscow has long been Vietnam’s main source of weapons. But Hanoi has recently grown closer to the U.S. Before the visit, U.S. officials rebuked Vietnam, saying that “no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities.”

Here are three takeaways from the visit.

Fallout from the North Korea visit: The defense pact that Russia signed with North Korea this week rattled officials in South Korea and Japan, which have been expecting growing security challenges from Pyongyang. It’s also a headache for Beijing: The treaty raises the risk of confrontation in the region and could prompt the U.S. and its allies to bolster their military presence on China’s periphery.

Israel’s military at odds with Netanyahu

For months, reports had swirled about divisions between Israel’s military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the direction of the war in Gaza. This week, that rift spilled into the open.

The sharpest and most public break came with unusually blunt comments from the armed forces’ chief spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari. In an interview aired on Israeli television on Wednesday, Hagari appeared to counter Netanyahu’s promises of “absolute victory” over Hamas. “The idea that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” he said.

Netanyahu’s office was quick to issue a statement that the military and his government were both committed to “the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.”

Analysis: Hagari’s remarks reflected growing concern among Israeli military leaders that they might be handed responsibility for administering Gaza, a retired Israeli general said.

U.S.: After Netanyahu lashed out at the U.S. on Tuesday for withholding some heavy munitions, the White House spokesman described his comments as “deeply disappointing” yesterday. It was the latest back-and-forth between the allies that have increasingly diverged on how Israel is conducting the war.

Gaza: The only way for almost all people in Gaza to escape the horrors of the war between Israel and Hamas is by leaving through neighboring Egypt. But that’s a complicated and expensive ordeal that involves paying thousands of dollars to middlemen or an Egyptian company.

Dutch prime minister is poised to lead NATO

Mark Rutte, the departing prime minister of the Netherlands, is expected to be elected as the next secretary general of NATO after Romania’s president dropped his bid.

Rutte, 57, has guided more than $3 billion in Dutch military support to Ukraine since 2022. He has increasingly echoed a main NATO message that supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia is vital for preserving democracy and national sovereignty across the alliance.

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A shift for nomads of the sea

The Bajo people once spent a large part of their lives on boats or in offshore huts on wooden poles anchored to the sea bottom. Traditionally, they came ashore only to trade for supplies or shelter from storms. Their communities are found off the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. They are skilled at fishing and free diving.

Starting in the late 1980s, the Indonesian government developed settlements for them on land to access services like schools. More of the Bajo began spending more time on land. Some gave up their seaborne lives entirely.

To those who study the Bajo, there’s little question that the culture is losing touch with its nomadic, seafaring past. Advocates hope that the younger generation will not forsake its connection to the sea.

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