• About Us
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships
TFI Official Merchandise
TFI English
TFI हिन्दी
Friday, January 27, 2023
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
Right Arm. Round the World. FAST.
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
No Result
View All Result

A new Vietnamese base is coming up in the Spratly Islands and Japan is written all over it

Akshay Narang by Akshay Narang
May 12, 2021
in Indo-Pacific
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Vietnam, Spratly Islands, South China Sea, Japan, China, Yoshihide Suga,

[PC:VNExpressInternational]

485
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Vietnam, a country with historical animosity against Beijing, is poking the paper Dragon in the South China Sea (SCS). China claims the entire SCS, including its big and small geographical features. But guess what? A Japan-backed Vietnam simply doesn’t care.

Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority has proposed to build an airport on the Spratly Islands, which is claimed by China as a part of its territory. The aviation agency proposed an airport at the Spratly Islands among several others on the ground that it would bolster the country’s sovereignty over disputed features and islands in the SCS region. Vietnam’s agency has proposed the Spratly airport, but we can see Japan written all over Hanoi’s plans.

Also Read

Is South-East Asia ready for the Chinese collapse?

Kenya’s influence in East Africa is being threatened by a neighbour

Vietnam, Spratly Islands, South China Sea, Japan, China, Yoshihide Suga,
[PC:TheTimes]
For Japan, Vietnam has emerged as a key strategic partner in the Western Pacific. This is a natural partnership, isn’t it? China has been flexing its muscles in Japanese waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea for the past year. At around the same time, the paper Dragon also started flexing its muscles in the South China Sea. Beijing has been bullying all other claimants in the SCS region including Vietnam.

So, Vietnam and Japan soon realised that they are essential facing the same menace- a big, fat bully called China. So, the two started cooperating at an elevated level. Japan is a superpower, while Vietnam is one of the fastest growing world economies. So, it made a lot of sense for Tokyo and Hanoi to gang up on Beijing.

In the Abe era, Japan incentivized its manufacturing companies based in China to shift production out of the Middle Kingdom and relocate to other destinations. Many of these companies chose Vietnam as their new destination. But this was just the beginning as the Japan-Vietnam partnership has now touched upon more critical sectors like drilling and defence.

After coming to power, Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga sent across a big message by choosing Vietnam for his first overseas trip. Speaking to reporters along with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Suga had then described Vietnam as a “cornerstone” of the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” policy and “our valuable partner”. He also promised to continue contributing towards “peace and prosperity in the region”.

During the same visit, Japan and Vietnam had also agreed to boost defence ties, in an attempt to push back against Chinese aggression. Suga and Phuc were also able to finalise a basic agreement paving way for exporting Japanese defence equipment and technology to the Southeast Asian nation.

It does not seem like a coincidence that after Suga’s Vietnam visit, Hanoi has been growing increasingly assertive about its maritime rights and its ability to defend itself against Chinese intrusions. Last month, Vietnam’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son too made it a point to start off his stint by pledging stronger cooperation with Japan.

One of the first things Son did was to call up his Japanese counterparts and “exchange views on international and regional matters of shared concern, including East Sea issues (Vietnamese reference to SCS disputes).”

Read More: Biden has suddenly developed spine against China over Taiwan and France and Japan should be thanked for it

And then, Suga also had a telephonic conversation with Phuc earlier this week. Suga conveyed that Japan “strongly opposes” China’s growing military assertiveness. He also conveyed concerns about “unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China seas.”

In fact, Suga also brought up the issue of a recent Chinese law that empowers its Coast Guard to open fire against ships it perceives as intruding on its territory.

At the ground level also, Vietnam has been pushing back against Chinese belligerence. Vietnam’s maritime militia is expanding itself in the South China Sea, in a bid to challenge Beijing’s acts of aggression. China itself is, of course, deeply worried about the Vietnamese militia. Collin Koh, the maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said, “They (Vietnamese militia) are trying to expand the maritime militia.”

Koh added, “The idea is that the existing maritime militia needs to expand its manpower.”

Read More: France Army to train alongside Japan’s ‘Marines’. It’s a bold message to both China and the USA

Meanwhile, Vietnam has also started partnering with Japanese firms in joint drilling ventures. Earlier, Hanoi was unable to harness similar drilling projects in partnership with other countries in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) because of the South China Sea disputes. Beijing used to act aggressively against any such commercial joint venture involving Vietnam and force companies from other countries to run away.

But Japan is here to stay. It is ready to tackle Chinese aggression while pushing ahead with joint drilling projects in the region.

The fact remains that Vietnam is challenging Chinese hegemony. It is Hanoi which is using maritime militias, joint drilling projects with Japanese firms and infrastructure proposals to deny China’s claims over disputed features like the Spratly Islands. However, it is actually Japan which is emboldening Vietnam. By challenging China in its backyard, Suga is actually humiliating Xi Jinping.

Tags: ChinaExhaustive ReadsJapanSouth China SeaSpratly IslandsVietnamYoshihide Suga
ShareTweetSend
Previous Post

‘Biden has left Israel to burn,’ Trump rips into Biden for tacitly supporting Palestine

Next Post

Djibouti is going to be the biggest war theatre in the whole world in few years to come

Also Read

Is South-East Asia ready for the Chinese collapse?

Is South-East Asia ready for the Chinese collapse?

January 25, 2023
Finally! Jacinda Ardern has done something good for Kiwis

Finally! Jacinda Ardern has done something good for Kiwis

January 19, 2023
Ethiopia China imports

Post War Ethiopia should ensure its economic interest are not trampled upon

January 17, 2023
China Russia Allies,

China and Russia are anything but all-weather allies

January 16, 2023
Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Joy Piccolo O’ Connell in tv

Joy Piccolo O’ Connell and her role as a wife while her husband was battling cancer

October 8, 2021
Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation?

Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation?

May 9, 2022
Saudi Arabia Caribbean

Saudi Arabia expands its Caribbean foothold with an $80m gift

January 22, 2023
World Economic Forum

“Sex, sleaze, and drugs” is what WEF is all about

January 18, 2023
Abrams tanks

The real reason why US denied giving Abram tanks to Ukraine

January 10, 2023
Canada Christian

Justin Trudeau’s assault on Western Morality and Christian Values

January 27, 2023
Leopard Emoji

Leopard Emoji; Germany’s racist mask falls off

January 27, 2023
St. Lucian PM definitely doesn’t give a damn about accountability

St. Lucian PM definitely doesn’t give a damn about accountability

January 27, 2023
Ethnic cleansing, Coups and Coercion- the tools US (NATO) uses to increase its influence

Ethnic cleansing, Coups and Coercion- the tools US (NATO) uses to increase its influence

January 27, 2023
Canada Military scrap Ukraine

Sneering at its peak! Canada aids Ukraine with its Military scrap

January 27, 2023
Youtube Twitter Facebook
TFIGlobal
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy

©2023 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean

©2023 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Follow us on Twitter

and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team

Follow @tfiglobal
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. View our Privacy and Cookie Policy.