Both haveunderscored the compliance to international law, notably the UNConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in doing so.
These remarks came out from the second Vietnam-Japan Defence Policy Dialogue in Tokyo on August 9.
Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh led aVietnamese delegation to the event, which is part of activities to markthe 40th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.
At the dialogue, an agreement on supporting each other in researchcapacity building and management for sea areas and activelyparticipating in international forums to build rules and code of conductapplied at sea in conformity with international law was reached.
The two sides reviewed their defence cooperation since the signing ofan MOU on defence cooperation and exchange, including the exchange ofdelegations, personnel training, defence industry, experience sharing inhumanitarian aids, search and rescue activities and maritime security.
They talked about cooperation at multilateralforums, including the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN DefenceMinisters’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) to ensure a peaceful, stable region.
Regarding the sharing of experience from peace-keepingmissions, Vietnam informed the host of its joining of the UNPeace-keeping force, which was lauded, together with a pledge offirst-phase technical and management assistance, by the Japanese side.
Turning to defence industry, the two sides agreed to study, develop and apply science and technology in this field.
The humanitarian issue and war aftermath overcoming was raised during the dialogue.
The Japanese side said it backs Vietnam’s “humanitarian mine action”initiative which will be tabled at the upcoming ADMM+ in Brunei, whilethe Vietnamese side informed that it is studying the application ofJapanese technologies in dealing with Agent Orange/dioxin consequences.
The dialogue also touched upon such issues asnon-traditional security, nuclear, mass destruction weaponnonproliferation, marine security and anti-piracy.
Talking to the Tokyo-based Vietnam News Agency correspondent, DeputyMinister Vinh said Vietnamese and Japan defence representatives agreedthat in the coming time, the Asia-Pacific will have more opportunitiesfor further development.
However, “it can only grow when it is peaceful and stable,” he said
Hostand guest also pointed out that the absence of each nation’s efforts aswell as multilateral cooperation will seriously affect developmentpotentials of the region.
Earlier on August 8,Deputy Defence Minister Vinh paid a cordial visit to Japanese DefenceMinister Itsunori Onodera, during which he delivered the country’s wishto intensify the full, comprehensive, trustful, effective andmutually-beneficiary defence cooperation with Japan for peace, stabilityand development in the region.
He visited someunits of the Japan defence force and Sojizt group, which has developed atechnology to treat Agent Orange/dioxin.-VNA