HANOI — Japan pledged $1.1 billion to Vietnam on Monday as part of a sprawling aid package that targets maritime and security affairs to bolster ties in the face of regional powerhouse China.
Hanoi and Tokyo are locked in separate standoffs with Beijing over territorial claims in disputed regional waters, pushing the two countries closer in recent years.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the 130 billion yen loan package during a two-day visit to Vietnam, which is also aimed at boosting business ties with the fast-growing communist nation.
“The two sides will further cooperation in security and defense,” Abe vowed in comments translated into Vietnamese adding that “newly-built patrol vessels” would be supplied to Hanoi.
“Both sides agreed on the importance of ensuring the maritime security on the issue of the South China Sea and promoting to resolve conflict by peaceful means (and) respecting international law,” Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told reporters.
Vietnam and China have traded barbs over disputed territory in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built islands capable of hosting military installations.
Tokyo has also sparred with Beijing over its territorial claims in the East China Sea, and both Japan and Vietnam have repeatedly stressed that maritime disputes should be addressed according to law.
Japan has made similar gifts of patrol vessels and aircraft to the Philippines which also has competing maritime claims with China.
Climate projects and waste management were also included in the loan aid package announced Monday on Abe’s trip, his third visit to Vietnam as prime minister.
Vietnam has come under fire for failing to enforce environmental regulations, especially in the industrial sector.
Last year, Taiwanese steel firm Formosa was blamed for a toxic waste dump that killed tons of fish along Vietnam’s central coast.
