Little is known about Lam’s rise but he is already proving a deft diplomat and guardian of his country’s interest.

Xi Jinping has urged Vietnam to resist “unilateral bullying” and uphold free and open trade, as he begins a high-stakes ...

In February, Chinese warships held live-fire drills in waters near Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China, after Hanoi published a map defining its territorial claims there.