Japan to export arms to Vietnam
Japan is set to sign an agreement with Vietnam to export defense equipment and technology to the country as part of a move to strengthen defense capabilities of Indo-Pacific nations to counter Chinese maritime advances, Nikkei Asia reported on October 14.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will visit Vietnam and Indonesia next week, the newspaper said, adding he was expected to sign the Vietnam deal during the trip.
Security cooperation is expected to emerge as a key topic in Suga’s meetings with the countries’ leaders. Vietnam in particular faces competing claims with China in the South China Sea, where Beijing continues to build up islands and its military presence. A China Coast Guard vessel also collided with a Vietnamese fishing vessel in the waters this April.
Japan’s sales ban on arms ended 2014
Japan ended a decades-long ban on overseas arms sales in 2014 to help beef up the nation’s military and lower the unit cost of home-built military equipment but has so far struggled to strike export deals for finished products.
The specifics of Japan’s exports will depend on what Vietnam wants. Japan has been promoting its P-1 patrol plane and C-2 transport plane abroad, and also signed a deal with the Philippines in August to export a warning and control radar system developed by Mitsubishi Electric.
Roughly 80 per cent of Vietnam’s arms purchases in the last decade came from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Still, the country has been cooperating more closely on security issues with Japan and the US in response to China, and Tokyo hopes to persuade Hanoi to branch out.
Tokyo is also negotiating with Thailand to sign an agreement regarding defense equipment transfers as it seeks to draw on Southeast Asian demand.
Japan is set to sign an agreement with Vietnam to export defense equipment and technology to the country as part of a move to strengthen defense capabilities of Indo-Pacific nations to counter Chinese maritime advances, Nikkei Asia reported on October 14. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will visit Vietnam and Indonesia next week, the newspaper said, adding he was expected to sign the Vietnam deal during the trip. Security cooperation is expected to emerge as a key topic in Suga’s meetings with the countries’ leaders. Vietnam in particular faces competing claims with China in the South China Sea, where Beijing continues...
Japan is set to sign an agreement with Vietnam to export defense equipment and technology to the country as part of a move to strengthen defense capabilities of Indo-Pacific nations to counter Chinese maritime advances, Nikkei Asia reported on October 14.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will visit Vietnam and Indonesia next week, the newspaper said, adding he was expected to sign the Vietnam deal during the trip.
Security cooperation is expected to emerge as a key topic in Suga’s meetings with the countries’ leaders. Vietnam in particular faces competing claims with China in the South China Sea, where Beijing continues to build up islands and its military presence. A China Coast Guard vessel also collided with a Vietnamese fishing vessel in the waters this April.
Japan’s sales ban on arms ended 2014
Japan ended a decades-long ban on overseas arms sales in 2014 to help beef up the nation’s military and lower the unit cost of home-built military equipment but has so far struggled to strike export deals for finished products.
The specifics of Japan’s exports will depend on what Vietnam wants. Japan has been promoting its P-1 patrol plane and C-2 transport plane abroad, and also signed a deal with the Philippines in August to export a warning and control radar system developed by Mitsubishi Electric.
Roughly 80 per cent of Vietnam’s arms purchases in the last decade came from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Still, the country has been cooperating more closely on security issues with Japan and the US in response to China, and Tokyo hopes to persuade Hanoi to branch out.
Tokyo is also negotiating with Thailand to sign an agreement regarding defense equipment transfers as it seeks to draw on Southeast Asian demand.
