Japan pledges to bolster Vietnam’s S China Sea patrols

HANOI — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said yesterday that Japan will provide six patrol vessels to Vietnam as a part of a fresh yen-loan offer totalling ¥120 billion (S$1.5 billion) to help Vietnam’s maritime safety efforts amid China’s expanding activities at sea.

“We will strongly support Vietnam’s enhancing its maritime law enforcement capability,” Mr Abe said, while emphasising that the dispute over the South China Sea should be settled through talks and in accordance with international law.

Mr Abe also said the two countries will further strengthen security and defence cooperation at a news conference in Hanoi with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The two leaders called for the upholding of international law in resolving disputes in the South China Sea.

“The two sides agreed on the importance of ensuring peace, security and safety of maritime navigation and overflight in the East China Sea, promoting the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, no use of force or threat to use force,” Mr Phuc told reporters, referring to the South China Sea by its Vietnamese term.

Both countries have maritime disputes with China — Vietnam in the South China Sea and Japan in the East China Sea, over what Tokyo calls the Senkaku Islands. China calls them the Diaoyu.

Beijing claims almost all of the disputed South China Sea, through which about US$5 trillion (S$7 trillion) worth in shipborne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan also have claims.

Tokyo has no territorial claims there, but worries about China’s growing military reach into the sea lanes.

Mr Phuc said Mr Abe has committed to give Vietnam more development assistance amounting to ¥123 billion in the fiscal year of 2016 for maritime security, responding to climate change and water treatment.

It is not clear whether the new loans will cover the purchase of new patrol vessels.

The two leaders also pledged to deepen their two countries’ strategic partnership.

In September, Japan had said it was ready to provide new patrol boats to Vietnam after earlier supplying six old vessels.

Vietnam was Mr Abe’s last stop on a four-nation tour that also took him to the Philippines, Australia and Indonesia, which are, along with Vietnam, key Asia-Pacific countries Mr Abe is seeking to strengthen ties with, against the backdrop of the rise of China and uncertainties over United States President-elect Donald Trump’s Asian policy.

Both Japan and Vietnam have also been strong supporters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade pact, which looks to have stalled in the face of Mr Trump’s pledge to withdraw the US.

In Hanoi, Mr Abe also stressed the importance of the TPP and other free trade agreements, but gave no further details.

The delegation signed a number of business agreements, including energy and textile projects and a project to help with the impact of climate change.

Japan is one of Vietnam’s top investors and trading partners and is the communist country’s single largest bilateral donor. AGENCIES