Minister: Japan-ASEAN ties push Vietnam-Japan partnership forwardThe good relationship between Japan and ASEAN provides an impetus for Vietnam – Japan extensive strategic partnership, Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh said following the ninth Japan – ASEAN Deputy Defence Ministerial Meeting. Vinh noted that during the latest Japan – ASEAN Deputy Defence Ministerial Meeting, the Japanese side expressed the wish to further enhance collaboration with the bloc in many areas after the Vientiane Vision on ASEAN-Japan Defence Relations was issued in 2016. Deputy Minister Vinh underlined that ASEAN plays an increasingly important role in Asia-Pacific defence cooperation conferences, which can be seen at the Seoul Defence Dialogue held in the Republic of Korea (RoK) last week. He noted that at the dialogue, the RoK proposed organising a RoK-ASEAN deputy defence ministers’ meeting similar to that between Japan and ASEAN. The RoK also expressed wish to work with ASEAN to deal with common issues in Asia-Pacific and in Northeast Asia.

Source: VietNamNet News September 13, 2017 12:22 UTC