Japan extends patrol ship carrot to Vietnam, plus ¥96 billion loan

Japan and Vietnam will discuss the idea of providing Japanese patrol ships to the Vietnam coast guard to help counter China’s growing claims to contested reefs and islands in the South China Sea, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday.

“Our countries’ cooperation is extremely important for regional peace and stability, especially for maintaining maritime order as well as international aviation order,” Abe said at a joint press conference with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung after their talks in Tokyo.

And to boost Vietnam’s economy, Abe pledged about ¥96 billion in new loans mainly for highway and port construction projects.

Vietnam and some other ASEAN states are at odds with Beijing over overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea. In July, Japan said it would provide Manila with 10 coast guard patrol ships through a yen loan.

In Sunday’s meeting, Dung told Abe that he “understands” Japan’s concern with China’s newly declared air defense identification zone over the East China Sea, which covers the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, said Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko.

“There is a need to secure peace, stability and prosperity in the region by ensuring freedom of overflight and freedom of navigation in line with international law,” Dung said.

Dung was quoted by Seko as saying that he is worried about coercive moves to change the status quo in the South China Sea and hopes that an effective and legally binding Code of Conduct can be drafted to prevent potential conflicts over such claims.

In a joint statement issued Saturday after the main summit talks concluded between Japan and ASEAN, Japan praised the fact that official talks on such a code were launched between China and ASEAN in September.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Vietnam, Japan strengthen cooperation in defense

Vietnam hopes to continue to strengthen its strategic partnership with Japan, including defense relations, said Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty.

Shigeru Iwasaki, Japan's Self Defense Forces' chief of Joint Staff, salutes as he poses behind a model of F-15 fighter aircraft at his desk after an interview with Reuters at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo March 27, 2013.

The official made the statement at his meeting with Chief of Joint Staff of Japan’s Self Defense Forces General Shigeru Iwasaki, in Tokyo on April 15.

During the talk, Ty, who is leading a high-ranking military delegation on an official friendly visit to Japan at the invitation of General Iwasaki, said Vietnam highly values the fruitful outcome of the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and Japan.

Ty also said his visit is an activity to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Japan, and will contribute to strengthening bilateral defense cooperation.
The two countries should step up the implementation of cooperation contents as specified in the MoU on bilateral defense cooperation, Ty said.

Vietnam and Japan should have closer cooperation at multilateral forums such as the ASEAN Regional Security Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN Defense Ministerial Meeting Plus (ADMM+), Ty recommended.
In reply to his Vietnamese counterpart, Gen. Iwasaki said he highly valued the position and role of Vietnam in the region and pointed out that Vietnam and Japan share many similarities.

Japan, therefore, wants to enhance comprehensive cooperation, including defense industry, with Vietnam.
After the talk, the Vietnamese delegation was received by Japan’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who said he supports the cooperation between the Vietnam People’s Army and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.

Tuoitre News

Japan, Vietnam to hold maritime security talks in May

Japan and Vietnam have agreed to hold maritime security talks in May in Hanoi to accelerate maritime cooperation amid China’s increasing assertiveness in the East China Sea and South China Sea, government sources said Saturday.

The two nations are expected to exchange views on Japan’s possible provision of patrol vessels to Vietnam during the first-ever bilateral talks on maritime security, the sources said.

Vietnam has expressed hope that Japan will provide patrol boats as part of Hanoi’s efforts to improve its maritime security capabilities.

The two sides are expected to confirm their stand against China’s maritime assertiveness and the need for abiding by international law to ensure maritime security, one of the sources said.

Senior officials from Japan’s foreign and defense ministries will take part in the talks, the sources said.

Japan sees Vietnam “as a strategic partner that shares common interests,” a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.

In the talks, Japan is expected to provide a briefing on China’s increasing maritime activities around the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, including occasional entries of official Chinese ships into Japan’s territorial waters around the islands, which are claimed by China, the sources said.

Vietnam is expected to touch on the dispute with China over sovereignty of the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea.

Japan Times