Japan, Vietnam Agree on Defense Gear Transfer Pact

Hanoi, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)--Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, effectively agreed on Monday to conclude a pact allowing Japan to export defense equipment and technologies to Vietnam. In their talks in Hanoi, the two leaders reached the agreement in a move to deepen the two nation's defense partnership to put a brake on China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, where Vietnam and China are in a territorial dispute. "I'm deeply concerned about unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and we will continue to work together with Vietnam," Suga said at the meeting, apparently mindful of China's maritime advances in the region. Phuc said he shares the deep concern. Japan has signed similar defense agreements with nine countries. Vietnam will be the third Asian nation, after the Philippines and Malaysia. "It's a big step for the two countries' security and I'm confident of further progress," Suga said in a joint press confidence after the talks. Also in their meeting, the two leaders agreed on the restart of short-term business trips between their countries. Short-term travelers between the two countries will be exempted from two-week quarantine on condition that they submit certificates of negative novel coronavirus test results and activity schedules. Vietnam will be the third country with which Japan allows the resumption of business trips following entry restrictions introduced amid the coronavirus outbreak. Suga and Phuc agreed that Japan and Vietnam will work more closely together in the fight against the novel coronavirus. The two nations will work on the diversification of medical supply chains in order to reduce dependence on China. In addition, the two leaders affirmed that their countries will work in tandem to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region and cooperate closely on regional issues regarding the South China Sea and North Korea. At the beginning of their meeting, Phuc told Suga that the two countries share strategic interests and therefore are their most important strategic partners. In response, Suga said that Japan, upholding its vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region, has clarified its stance of actively engaging with the region, including member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Suga added that there is no change in this stance under his administration. Before the joint press conference, Suga and Phuc signed a memorandum of cooperation on the supply of counterterrorism equipment. The visit to Vietnam marked Suga's first overseas trip since he took office last month. It was the first time for Suga to meet in person with a foreign leader. Vietnam is the first leg of Suga's ongoing two-nation trip, which will also take him to Indonesia, another ASEAN member. END