By Prashanth Parameswaran
Move marks another ‘first’ in Japan-Vietnam defense ties.
Japanese vessels will be allowed to make port calls in a Vietnamese naval base facing the South China Sea next year, the two countries agreed following defense consultations November 6.
According to Japanese media outlets, Japanese defense minister Gen Nakatani and his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh agreed during a meeting in Hanoi that Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces (MSDF) vessels will be allowed to make port calls in Cam Ranh Bay, a deep-water harbor in central Vietnam that is alongside the South China Sea. Hanoi is currently building a facility for foreign vessels which is scheduled to open next year. Japanese officials also reportedly said they hope that the port call will occur sometime in 2016.
The agreement comes as Japanese security forces have been increasing their activities in the South China Sea amid simmering maritime disputes there to which Vietnam is a claimant. The MSDF participated in a humanitarian drill with the United States and the Philippines off Subic Bay in August and held an exercise with the U.S. Navy north of Borneo last month (See: “Interview: The Future of U.S. Military Exercises in the Asia-Pacific”). Separately, Japan is also currently seeking a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines–another South China Sea claimant–that would make it just the third nation to get access to Philippine military bases following the United States and Australia (See: “Japan, Philippines Seeking New Pact on Military Bases”).
Read the full story at The Diplomat