Japan, Vietnam reach defence agreement amid tension with China

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has reportedly signed a defence agreement with his Vietnamese counterpart during his ongoing trip to Hai. Suga, during his first foreign visit since taking office last month, has reached an agreement with Vietnam, seeking to increase military equipment transactions between both nations. nitty-gritty of deal is unclear but Vietnam is expected to buy defence equipment and techlogy from Japan. "Vietnam is crucial to achieving our vision of ‘ Free and Open Indo-Pacific,’ and our valuable partner," Suga was quoted as saying by Associated Press.  

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two countries also agreed to cooperate on security issues, especially in South China Sea and threat posed by rth Korean regime. two countries also agreed to resume passenger flight services which were suspended keeping in mind COVID-19 outbreak. Suga called agreement a "big step" in terms of security cooperation between both nations. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that both countries agreed on resolving regional tensions without use of violence and also welcomes Japan's role in contributing to peace and stability in region. 

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Japan and Vietnam also agreed to increase bilateral tre as Suga said that his country will promote diversification of supply chain. Suga has been reportedly looking at diversifying supply chain in order to help local businesses lessen reliance on China for production and manufacturing. Both Japan and Vietnam have China as ir largest tring partner, which makes disputes even more concerning for m than that for Beijing. 

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Tensions in East & South China Sea 

agreement between Suga and Phuc comes amid a recent escalation of tension in East China Sea. Beijing sent two ships in waters near Senkaku islands, which is claimed by Japan. Despite several warnings from Japanese coast guards, Chinese vessels allegedly refused to move and stayed re for over 60 hours, which Japan described as longest incursion by Chinese in eight years. Meanwhile, Vietnam has its own dispute with China in South China Sea, where it counters Beijing's overstated territorial claims. 

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(With inputs from AP)