HANOI, Vietnam (Reuters) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received a state welcoming ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam on Monday (January 16).
Vietnam is the last leg of his six-day Asia-Pacific tour, aimed at bolstering security cooperation amid tensions on the South China Sea.
In Vietnam, Abe announced that Japan would supply six new patrol boats to Vietnam, which too is locked in a dispute with China over the disputed South China Sea territories.
China has put many nearby nations on alert after it laid claim on almost the entire South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion worth of goods passes every year.
Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
Abe held talks with his counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc and is scheduled to meet with other top leaders such as President Tran Dai Quang and ruling Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong on the same day.
After the meeting, Abe and Phuc attended a ceremony where the two countries signed various agreements on cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, official development assistance, adaptation to climate change and national defence and security.
Abe’s stop in Vietnam completes a tour through an arc of the region where Japan stakes a leadership claim in the face of China’s growing dominance and uncertainty over what policy change Donald Trump will bring as U.S. president.