Japan’s Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said the deal, signed on Saturday, elevates the two countries’ defence partnership “to a new level” and that Japan and Vietnam plan to deepen defence ties through multinational joint exercises and other means. Details about the transfer of specific equipment, including naval vessels, will be worked out in subsequent talks, the Japanese Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Kishi’s meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Phan Van Giang, in Hanoi coincided with a two-day visit to the Vietnamese capital by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
