SUMMARY
In case you missed it, Vladimir Putin was in the neighborhood – driving a limousine with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, signing a military pact with the rogue state, and then flying to Hanoi, where he earned lavish praise from its communist leaders.
That’s enough to rattle an already-rattled region that, early in June, played host to Putin’s nemesis, whose country he has invaded in brutal precision: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Add to this the spears and knives that the Chinese wielded at sea last week, as they punctured Philippine boats that were already moored beside BRP Sierra Madre, in Ayungin Shoal, for their resupply mission.
Anxiety has hit the roof in this part of the world. It’s palpable in the way action and language have played out in the last few days.
But l…