Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrived in Vietnam on Sunday, kicking off a four-day tour of Southeast Asia that includes Vietnam and the Philippines. The aim of the visit is to strengthen security and economic ties in the face of China’s growing influence in the region.
“We hope to further strengthen our security cooperation with both countries,” Ishiba, who is visiting Southeast Asia for the third time since taking office in October, said at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport ahead of his trip. Ishiba also drew attention to China’s “attempts to change the status quo by force” in the East and South China Seas. Emphasizing that the high tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump will have a “huge impact” on the economies of Vietnam and the Philippines, Ishiba said he plans to listen to the views of Japanese companies operating in these countries and reflect them in government policies. Ishiba is scheduled to meet with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam in Hanoi on Sunday, and will meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday. According to Japanese government sources, Japan will offer to provide Vietnam with defense equipment under the “official security assistance” program it launched last year. A final declaration on economic cooperation and the establishment of a dialogue mechanism between the two countries’ foreign and defense officials is expected to be issued after the talks. Ishiba will meet with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his visit to Manila, which begins on Tuesday. They are expected to agree to start negotiations on an intelligence-sharing agreement and to organize joint exercises between the coast guards of the two countries. They will also begin negotiations on an agreement to facilitate the exchange of defense equipment and logistical support.
