Japan joins China, US, India as top-tier security, economic partner of Vietnam

On a rare state visit to Tokyo, Vietnam’s Vo Van Thuong also agreed to work on defence and technology transfers and discuss Japanese military aid

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida called Vietnam ‘a key partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific’ in a joint press conference following their meeting

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Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong (left) shakes hands with Fumio Kishida during a visit to the Japanese prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:01pm, 28 Nov 2023

Japan and Vietnam have agreed to strengthen their security and economic ties in the face of China’s growing influence in the region.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong held talks in Tokyo on Monday and agreed to broaden their security cooperation, work on defence equipment and technology transfers and start discussing a new Japanese aid programme for militaries of like-minded developing countries in the region.

The two leaders said the Japan-Vietnam relationship would become a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, bringing their ongoing cooperation to “new heights and to further expand it to new fronts”, according to their joint statement provided by Japan’s Foreign Ministry.

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Japan has been rapidly developing closer ties with Vietnam, a key southeast Asian nation that has important security and economic roles in the region faced with China’s rise and rivalry with the United States and other Western nations.

Monday’s announcement meant that Japan has now gained the status of Vietnam’s top-tier partners, along with the US, China and India.

At a joint news conference after their meeting, Kishida said Vietnam is “a key partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific”. Thuong said that close cooperation between the two countries contributes to the region’s peace and prosperity.

Under its Official Security Assistance scheme, Japan recently agreed to provide a coastal surveillance radar to the Philippines, another strategically important Southeast Asian country for Japan and the US amid escalating tensions over Taiwan, which Beijing regards the island as a breakaway province to be brought under mainland control – by force, if necessary.