Japan, Vietnam to boost security cooperation amid ‘serious concerns’ over South China Sea

The countries’ leaders agreed to step up their strategic alliance and strengthen supply chains, while Tokyo will also send Hanoi 1.54 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses

Successive Japanese governments have made strategically located Vietnam a key component of Tokyo’s foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific

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Japanese PM Fumio Kishida (R) and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 7:00am, 25 Nov 2021Updated: 7:57am, 25 Nov 2021

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday agreed to step up security cooperation between their countries while sharing “serious concerns” over aggressive moves in regional waters in a veiled reference to China’s growing assertiveness.

A joint statement following their meeting in Tokyo said the two agreed on the importance of upholding an international order that is based on law, while affirming they will work together towards economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Vietnam is an important partner for Japan which will serve as the linchpin in our efforts to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Kishida said as he met the press with Chinh after their talks.

The leaders “expressed serious concerns about the situation in the South China Sea and any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions”, the statement said, while calling for any disputes to be resolved in line with international law.

Chinh is the first leader Kishida has hosted since taking office last month, and his four-day official visit to Japan ends on Thursday.