Japan and Vietnam are bolstering their defense relations in light of shared security threats largely involving maritime territorial incursions by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
New defense agreements and the transfer of two search and rescue vehicles demonstrate the progress made since the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership in late 2023. A meeting between Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Vietnamese Defense Minister Gen. Phan Van Giang in Hanoi in early August 2024 showcased the strengthening bond, with pledges to increase bilateral engagements.
“In the current climate where the need for international cooperation in the field of security and defense is greater than ever, it is extremely important to strengthen cooperation with as many countries as possible, as stated in the [Japan] National Defense Strategy formulated at the end of last year,” Kihara said. “We have strengthened security and defense cooperation with Vietnam in various fields, including high-level exchanges, unit-to-unit exchanges, educational exchanges and capacity-building support.”
Giang emphasized the steady expansion and deepening of defense relations to become a crucial pillar in the nations’ partnership, Vietnam’s Defense Ministry reported.
There has been significant progress in addressing war legacies, training, military medicine, search and rescue operations, United Nations peacekeeping missions, and regular consultations in regional forums. Hanoi and Tokyo also conduct a deputy ministerial-level defense policy dialogue and consultations among Air Force, Army and Navy officers.
Giang and Kihara welcomed Japan’s transfer of vehicles to Vietnam for search and rescue missions, marking the first occurrence under the nations’ 2021 defense equipment and technology transfer agreement, officials said.
“Based on this meeting, we would like to further deepen bilateral defense cooperation with Vietnam and multilateral cooperation including Japan-ASEAN,” Kihara said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Vietnam is one of 10 members.
Japan and Vietnam have faced significant maritime disputes with the PRC in recent years, sparked by Beijing’s discredited territorial claims in the East China and South China seas.
The PRC has increased the presence of its coast guard vessels and military aircraft around the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands, prompting Tokyo to enhance its maritime surveillance and defense posture.
In the South China Sea, meanwhile, Beijing unlawfully claims sovereignty over much of Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), particularly around the Paracel and Spratly island groups. In 2017, for example, the PRC pressured Hanoi to halt an oil drilling project within Vietnam’s EEZ, costing Vietnam more than $1 billion in penalties to oil companies.
In 2023, Japan and Vietnam agreed to expand cooperation in cybersecurity, military training and defense equipment transfers. The initiatives align with Tokyo’s strategy to bolster security ties with Southeast Asian nations to uphold a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
During the August talks, Giang reaffirmed Vietnam’s steadfast position on resolving disputes peacefully based on international law and regional commitments, particularly the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, signed in 2002 by ASEAN and the PRC, according to Vietnam’s People’s Army Newspaper.
Giang also stressed the need to advance negotiations for a substantive and effective code of conduct in the resource-rich South China Sea, a global trade route.
