Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged stronger cooperation with Vietnam, placing particular emphasis on energy and critical minerals after talks in Hanoi.
Takaichi met Vietnamese counterpart Le Minh Hung on Saturday and the two leaders signed six agreements covering areas from infrastructure and agriculture to space cooperation. After the meeting, Takaichi told reporters that both sides had “identified economic security as a new priority area for bilateral cooperation.” She added that on critical minerals, the governments had “agreed to strengthen close coordination to ensure stable supplies and reinforce supply chains.”
Hung said the leaders also “reaffirmed the importance of resolving disputes in the South China Sea through peaceful means based on international law.” Both Japan and Vietnam have voiced concerns about China’s territorial claims in the East and South China Seas and have taken steps to broaden economic and security ties as a hedge against trade disruptions tied to the United States.
The move toward deeper cooperation follows a sharp drop in new Japanese investment in Vietnam: Japanese investment fell about 75 percent year-on-year to $233 million in the first quarter, even as bilateral trade rose 12.3 percent to $13.7 billion over the same period, according to Vietnamese government and customs figures.
Vietnam has been seeking external support for crude oil supplies amid rising prices and supply disruptions linked to conflict in the Middle East. Under Japan’s $10 billion Power Asia Initiative, Tokyo will help arrange crude oil deliveries for Vietnam’s Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, Hung said.
Takaichi was also scheduled to meet President To Lam—who is identified in the visit as the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam—and to deliver a keynote speech at Vietnam National University. Her visit coincides with the tenth anniversary of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s introduction of Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy, which remains a reference point in Tokyo’s regional policy.