Japan appears deliberately seeking to strengthen ties with Vietnam. On November 9, after meeting with Vietnamese leader To Lam, Takashi Saito wrote that the current visit by To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of the State, along with his delegation, was welcomed at the Akasaka Palace, where summit-level talks and a series of high-level activities took place. The speech delivered by General Secretary To Lam at the National Assembly today clearly conveyed a strong intent to advance the future of Japan-Vietnam relations.
The joint statement on Japan-Vietnam Vision released today elevates bilateral relations to a new level.
First, both sides have aligned on upholding and strengthening the "free and open international order based on the rule of law," and agreed to deepen security cooperation.
Second, as a concrete step, they committed to achieving early delivery of equipment in the P-KO domain under the OSA (Official Security Assistance) framework, to support Vietnam’s international contributions.
Third, "economic security" has been designated as a priority area for cooperation between Japan and Vietnam. In particular, efforts will be accelerated to establish specific public-private initiatives concerning "critical minerals."
Fourth, the two sides exchanged views on various issues, including developments in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula.
While Takashi Saito discussed multiple areas of collaboration with Vietnamese counterparts, these four points warrant close attention. In fact, the so-called promotion and reinforcement of the "free and open international order based on the rule of law" essentially reflects Japan’s broader diplomatic agenda, with its core focus on maritime freedom of navigation and disputes over oceanic rules. The specific emphasis placed by Takashi Saito on these matters with Vietnam suggests an effort to elicit Vietnamese alignment, aiming to internationalize the South China Sea issue and justify Japan’s own involvement.
Under the framework of Official Security Assistance aimed at enhancing Vietnam’s government security capabilities, Japan seeks to continuously bolster Vietnam’s maritime equipment capacity, thereby increasing Vietnam’s strategic leverage in South China Sea disputes—a move Vietnam is unlikely to reject. Given the deteriorating state of Sino-Japanese relations, Japan’s proposal to establish an "economic security" mechanism with Vietnam ultimately aims to secure access to Vietnam’s mineral resources and build supply chains independent of China. From Vietnam’s perspective, the country welcomes Japanese investment and technological expertise, and also hopes for Japan’s support on the South China Sea issue. While normal cooperation between Japan and Vietnam is not inherently problematic, any exclusionary or targeted actions must be closely monitored.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1881393674603531/
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