Suga says his four-day trip to Vietnam and then Indonesia is essential to continue the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” vision of multilateral economic cooperation and security to counter China’s developing force and protect navigation routes in disputed spaces in southern China Sea.
“Vietnam is a must to achieve our vision of a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ and our valued partner,” Suga said at a press convention after his meeting with Phuc. “Japan, as an Indo-Pacific nation, will continue to make a contribution to peace and stability in this region. “
Suga said Vietnam, in the middle of the Indo-Pacific, was the right top destination for its first foreigner as Japan’s leader.
Japan has already entered into defence device movement agreements with the United States, Britain and Malaysia, between countries. Vietnam is the twelfth partner. In August, Japan exported a radar surveillance formula to the Philippines in its first effective delivery.
No details of sales of conimaginable aircraft were mentioned, however, Suga called the agreement “not one of the main ones” for bilateral defence cooperation, saying it expects additional developments.
Japan lifted its ban on the movement of the apparatus and the generation of the military in 2014 as a component of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s attempt to strengthen Japan’s defense capacity.
Suga and Phuc have signed other cooperation agreements in economic spaces and on counter-terrorism measures.
The two sides also agreed to access bans and allow short-term business visits and reopen flights between Vietnam and Japan, either of which has succeeded in stabilizing the COVID-19 epidemics.
Suga also promised to provide assistance to Vietnamese personnel in Japan affected by the effect of the pandemic on the economy. The Vietnamese make up more than one part of the foreign staff that Japan has accepted in recent years to compensate for the decline and aging of its population.
Japan is one of Vietnam’s leading trading partners with a $28. 6 billion bilateral industry, so this year Japan is also Vietnam’s largest foreign aid donor, offering $23 billion in 2019 and accounting for more than a quarter of Vietnam’s external loans.
The government has s tried to inspire Japanese corporations to invest in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries in order to increase the country’s dependence on production and other companies in China.
In August, Vietnam agreed to purchase six $345 million Japan Coast Guard patrol boats to develop its maritime capacity. The agreement comes as China continues to expand and militarize synthetic islands in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
Suga’s predecessor, Abe, also chose Vietnam to be the first country he edited after taking office. Suga is the first foreign head of state in Vietnam since the country closed its borders to involve COVID-19.
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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.
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