16/12/2013
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday Japan will begin discussing with Vietnam providing patrol ships to its coast guard in light of China's growing assertiveness over contested reefs and islands in the South China Sea.
"Our countries' cooperation is extremely important for regional peace and stability, especially for maintaining maritime order as well as international aviation order," Abe said at a joint press conference with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung after their talks in Tokyo.
In an effort to boost Vietnam's economy, Abe pledged about 96 billion yen in new loans mainly for highway and port construction projects.
Vietnam and some other ASEAN member states are at odds with Beijing due to overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea. In July, Japan said it will provide Manila with 10 coast guard patrol ships through a yen loan in the face of an increasingly assertive China.
Read more at Kyodo News
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