By Koh Swee Lean Collin
Can growing ties help Vietnam deal with its South China Sea disputes?
The visit by Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam, to Japan last month marked yet another milestone in an increasingly close strategic partnership. On this occasion, Japan and Vietnam issued a Joint Vision Statement on Japan-Vietnam Relations [PDF] as well as a Memorandum on Cooperation between Coast Guard Agencies. Tokyo also inked an agreement to furnish Hanoi with a 200 billion yen ($1.66 billion) non-refundable aid grant for the latter’s maritime safety in fiscal 2015, while promising to provide additional used patrol vessels to enhance Vietnam’s civilian maritime law enforcement (CMLE) capacity.
What is interesting is that the visit came fewer than three months after Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, where he reiterated Hanoi’s desire to ramp up the bilateral maritime security relationship, including the prospect of acquiring new patrol vessels from Japan as well as seeking the latter’s continued support in the South China Sea disputes. Indeed, in view of the simmering tensions in the South China Sea, obtaining timely Japanese assistance has acquired a new sense of urgency. High-ranking Vietnamese government officials have repeatedly impressed upon their Japanese counterparts this year the need to expedite or even enhance assistance. For example, in March, on the sidelines of the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Vietnamese Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan and Kishida agreed to bolster maritime security cooperation.
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