Japanese Defence Minister: Vietnam is a crucial partner for Japan in maintaining regional peace and stability
WVR - Japanese Minister of Defence Koizumi Shinjiro affirms that Vietnam is a crucial partner for Japan in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
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| Japanese Minister of Defence Koizumi Shinjiro presides over the official welcoming ceremony for General Phan Van Giang. (Source: Ministry of National Defense) |
On the afternoon of July 13, at the headquarters of the Japanese Ministry of Defence in Tokyo, Japanese Minister of Defence Koizumi Shinjiro presided over the official welcoming ceremony for General Phan Van Giang, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence, and the high-level delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence on an official visit to Japan.
Immediately following the ceremony, General Phan Van Giang held talks with Minister Koizumi Shinjiro. During the discussions, General Phan Van Giang expressed his pleasure in leading the high-level delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence on an official visit to Japan amid the increasingly positive development of bilateral relations in all fields: politics, diplomacy, economy, trade, investment, culture, education, and training. He emphasised that the visit is an opportunity for both sides to exchange views to concretize the common understanding of the two countries' leaders on defence cooperation; to strengthen trustful, close, substantive, and effective relations between the two Ministries of Defense, and to promote bilateral defense cooperation further.
Minister Koizumi Shinjiro welcomed General Phan Van Giang and the high-level delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence for their official visit to Japan and held talks to evaluate the effectiveness of past cooperation and discuss measures to deepen bilateral defense cooperation in the future.
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| The two Ministers review the Honor Guard. (Source: Ministry of National Defence) |
In a spirit of sincere and frank exchange, both sides assessed that Vietnam-Japan defence cooperation has been continuously expanding and developing over the years, achieving many positive results. They agreed to continue coordinating the implementation of agreed cooperation contents, focusing on areas such as delegation exchanges, cooperation mechanisms, exchanges; education and training cooperation; defense industry; post-war recovery; rescue and disaster response cooperation; United Nations peacekeeping; mutual support in international multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM ).
Discussing global and regional situations and issues of mutual concern with Minister Koizumi Shinjiro, General Phan Van Giang affirmed that Vietnam consistently follows a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, diversification and multilateralisation; being friends with all countries; and adheres to the "Four No's" defence policy.
Regarding the East Sea issue, Vietnam persistently advocates resolving disputes and disagreements through peaceful means, based on respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); fully implements the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC); and hopes to soon sign a substantive, effective, and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
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| General Phan Van Giang and Minister Koizumi Shinjiro. (Source: Ministry of National Defence) |
During the talks, General Phan Van Giang expressed his gratitude to the Japanese Government for actively supporting Vietnam in overcoming post-war consequences and thanked the Japanese Ministry of Defence for annually providing military scholarships to Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence officials. He hopes the Japanese Ministry of Defence will continue to offer existing scholarships and expand training types, increasing undergraduate and postgraduate training quotas in science, technology, and engineering for Vietnamese military students.
The Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence is ready to receive Japanese students for international defense official courses and Vietnamese language courses at academies and schools.
Emphasizing that rescue cooperation is very meaningful and necessary, General Phan Van Giang hopes that both sides' rescue forces will continue to promote and realize the Memorandum of Understanding on Rescue Cooperation (signed in December 2025) with specific and practical cooperation contents.
On this occasion, General Phan Van Giang cordially invites the leadership of the Ministry of Defence, the Self-Defence Forces, and Japanese defence industry enterprises to attend the third Vietnam International Defence Exhibition in December 2026.
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| General Phan Van Giang held talks with Minister Koizumi Shinjiro. (Source: Ministry of National Defence) |
For his part, Japanese Minister of Defence Koizumi Shinjiro warmly welcomed the visit of General Phan Van Giang and the high-level delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, affirming that Vietnam is a crucial partner for Japan in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Minister Koizumi Shinjiro recalled the official visit to Vietnam by Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in May 2026, during which both sides announced the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision (FOIP); the meeting between the Minister and General Secretary, President To Lam on the occasion of the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore; and the official visit to Vietnam by General Uchikura Hiroaki, Chief of the Joint Staff of Japan, last June.
These visits demonstrate the positive development in relations between the two countries. Minister Koizumi Shinjiro emphasised that in the context of increasingly complex international situations, close coordination and strengthening relations between the two Ministries of Defence provide a foundational basis for both sides to share views on issues of mutual concern.
Agreeing with the opinions of General Phan Van Giang, Minister Koizumi Shinjiro affirmed that the Japanese Ministry of Defence will work with the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence to implement the agreed cooperation contents, thereby contributing to promoting bilateral defence cooperation commensurate with the comprehensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and globally between the two countries.
