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Tokyo stated that the new agreement will elevate the Japan-Vietnam defense partnership to a “new level.”
Fearing that China’s military influence will continue to expand, Japan and Vietnam agreed to strengthen cooperation and signed a new agreement allowing the export of Japanese-made defense equipment and technology to Hanoi.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said that the agreement signed on Saturday will raise the defense partnership between the two countries to “a new level.” Japan and Vietnam plan to deepen their defense relationship through multinational joint exercises and other means.
The Ministry of Defense of Japan said in a statement that details of the transfer of specific equipment including naval vessels will be finalized in subsequent talks.
An Zhi meets with Vietnamese counterpart Pan Van Giang in Hanoi coincide Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a two-day visit to the Vietnamese capital.
The Chinese diplomat said at the end of his visit that Beijing plans to donate 3 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to Vietnam. He also stated that China and Vietnam should avoid any unilateral actions on the South China Sea issue that may complicate the situation and widen differences.
Vietnam and China have territorial disputes over the Nansha and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
While alluding to China’s increasingly tough actions in disputed waters, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said that Kishi and Jiang agreed to safeguard the freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region and the importance of cooperation in various defense fields, including cyber security.
The ministry stated that Kishi stated that Japan strongly opposes “any unilateral attempt to change the status quo through coercion or any activity that aggravates tension.”
Japan and China are also involved in territorial disputes. Tokyo often protests the presence of the Chinese Coast Guard in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands. Beijing also claims and calls the Diaoyu Islands the Diaoyu Islands. Japanese officials say that Chinese ships often violate Japanese territorial waters around the islands and sometimes threaten fishing boats.
Vietnam is the 11th country where Japan and Japan have signed a defense equipment and technology transfer agreement.
Tokyo is seeking to expand its long-term ally in military cooperation outside the United States, and has signed similar agreements with the United Kingdom, Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
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