Background
On the occasion of the visit to Japan from March 16 th to 19 th in 2014, H.E
Mr Truong Tan Sang, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and H.E Mr
Abe Shinzo, Prime Minister of Japan decided to upgrade the two-country relations from ―strategic partnership‖ to ―extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia.‖ 1 This clearly reflected the mutual political trust and deep development in the bilateral cooperation Tokyo became Hanoi‘s first extensive strategic partner with seven main areas of cooperation which not only serve for the two sides‘ national interests but also for ―peace and prosperity in Asia‖ as written in their joint declaration
The year of 2013 also remarked a landmark in the Vietnam - Japan relations with the commemoration of the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic relations Unlike complicated relations of neighboring countries in the region such as between Japan and China, or between Japan and Korea, the Vietnam – Japan relations has been extended into new height The former Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung upon welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in his first overseas visit to Vietnam in 2013 declared that the Party and Government of Vietnam showed strong determination in intensifying and consolidating the cooperative relationship with Japan Prime Minister Nguyen also added that the bilateral tie is not only the ―consistent guideline and top priority of the foreign policy but also the strategic choice‖ 2 of Vietnam It can be explained that the Vietnamese people share a common consensus of opinion on the problem-free relationship with Japan while a closer move to China or the United States can bring domestic arguments such as
1 Japan - Viet Nam Joint Statement on the Establishment of the Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia, available at https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000031617.pdf accessed on April 15, 2019
2 Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam – Japan: sustainably strategic partners, available at https://vov.vn/vov-binh- luan/viet-namnhat-ban-doi-tac-chien-luoc-tin-cay-ben-vung-296521.vov accessed on April 15, 2019 territorial disputes with China or ideological differences with the United States On the Japanese side, the extensive cooperation with Vietnam is in accordance with its looking south policy, which carries out the stronger engagement with ASEAN – South East Asia countries
The two – country relations flourish in terms of trade and investment as Japan is now the Vietnam‘s fourth biggest trading partner with US$ 37.8 billion after China, South Korea, and the United States 3 Hanoi and Tokyo are actively cooperating in ratifying the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which surely further uplifts bilateral economic ties in the near future Vietnam with its focal importance in South East Asia and the large, young population of over 94 million is becoming more and more attractive for Japanese investors As of April 2019, over 3200 Japanese companies have established their bases in Vietnam 4 In return, Hanoi sees Tokyo as a strategic resource for capital and technology In 2013, the Vietnamese government ratified the country‘s industrialization strategy within the framework of Vietnam – Japan cooperation through 2020 with a vision toward 2030 with six priority industries including electronics, agricultural machinery, agricultural fishery product processing, shipbuilding, environment and energy saving and automobiles and auto parts manufacturing 5
Due to considerable changes in the regional geo-strategic landscape in recent years, the strategic cooperation has reached a new level of importance for the regional and international community It could be clearly shown in the serious incident occurred in the summer of 2014 when the Haiyang Shiyou 981, a Chinese oil rig was sent to the Vietnamese territorial waters As a new emerging power,
3 Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam‘s biggest trading partners, available at https://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnams-10-biggest-trading-partners-390918.vov#p4 , accessed on January 21th 2019
4 Japan times, Japan‘s commitment to Vietnam strengthens the country‘s ability to attract global investment, available at https://www.japantimes.co.jp/country-report/2019/04/26/vietnam-report-2019/japans- commitment-vietnam-strengthens-countrys-ability-attract-global-investment/#.XZfnKC2B0fE accessed on January 22 nd 2019
5 Decision No 1043/ QĐ-TTg on Vietnam‘s industrialization strategy within the framework of Vietnam – Japan cooperation through 2020 with a vision toward 2030, dated on July 1st 2013
China has gradually increased its assertiveness in the region even though they have trumpeted all over the world about their peaceful rise with a promise that Beijing will be a ―peaceful, pleasant, and civilized lion‖ (Xi Jin Ping, on his visit to France in March 2014) 6 as an answer to the concern of Napoleon in 1816 that ―Quand la Chine s‘éveillera, le monde entier tremblera‖ (When China wakes up, the world will tremble) In contrast to their declaration, the China‘s activities in the Vietnamese waters starting from May 1 st to July 16 th , 2014 has shown a different picture
Without any doubt, the Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea has increased the concerns about regional conflict At the same time, the China‘s pressure has brought Vietnam and Japan closer in term of security cooperation with the aim of counterbalancing China‘s hegemony in Asia Pacific region The two countries have closely worked in the field of security as their own bilateral cooperation, as well as under the regional framework of Asian Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defense Military Minister - Plus (ADMM-Plus), etc The two countries promote both traditional and non - traditional security cooperation to adapt with constant changes, volatility, and unpredictable events The traditional security cooperation helps Vietnam and Japan to protect their national interests which are directedly related to territorial sovereignty facing with unfriendly hegemony from the giant neighbor – China While the world is facing with new threats, non – traditional security cooperation contributes to protect human beings, living environment, as well as economy and culture Generally, due to shifts in Asian strategic order, each country with its own national interests is adapting its strategies flexibly to avoid being disoriented in the chess board of big countries It is of utmost importance for Vietnam and Japan to accelerate their diversified cooperation for the mutual benefits and more broadly for the regional peace and stability
6 Global Voice, ‗Sleeping lion‘ China awakened says President Xi Jinping, available at https://globalvoices.org/2014/03/29/sleeping-lion-china-awakened-says-president-xi-jinping/ accessed on February 19 th 2019.
Significance of the research
In the present regional and international context, China has emerged as a big player, which threatens to change the political order To China, for thousand years Vietnam is always seen as a geopolitical area in which China never wants to lose its influences For Japan, with the aim of containing China in the region and becoming a regional super power, it needs Vietnam as a ―political alliance‖ The South China Sea is crucial to Japan as one of its main sea lanes connecting Japan with Europe and Middle East In case of any possible conflict in the region, or if China can examine its power in this area, Japan would be put in a dangerous situation For Vietnam, a developing country on the way of industrialization and modernization, it is necessary to balance the relations with big players to ensure safe environment for its nation building process Additionally, due to the competition for power of big nations in the region, it is required for Vietnam to be flexible and sensible to protect its national interests
Therefore, analyzing the view points from Vietnam, Japan, and China and examine this triangle relations is of its great significance The thesis aims at evaluating the Vietnam – Japan relations with the influence of the China factor in the realm of politics, and suggests the prospect in developing the two countries‘ security relations The previous studies mainly focused on the Japan – Vietnam relations while this thesis will deal with critical moves and incidents from the Chinese side and examine their impacts on the two countries‘ relations The research will find out the impacts of the China factors on the Vietnam – Japan security relations since 2014 Hence, the research can bring some suggestions for the study on contemporary politics in the Asian area
To achieve this purpose, the thesis aims to answer the following question:
- What is the current trend in the Vietnam – Japan security relations?
- Why China is seen as a factor affecting the Vietnam – Japan security relations?
- What are the impacts of the China factor on Vietnam - Japan security cooperation?
The scope of the research will focus on the security cooperation of Vietnam and Japan since 2014 to present with impacts from the China side, especially its assertive activities in the South China Sea.
Literature Review
The political relations in Asia Pacific region attract lots of scholars‘ attentions Asia‘s Cauldron the south China sea and the end of stable pacific written by the American author Robert D Kaplan in 2013 has drawn a panorama picture about the political situation in the region with conflicts provoking the peace and stability R Kaplan has pointed out that in the East Asia, the most acutely competing area is seascape The book has 8 chapters, in which the 3 rd one is written about Vietnam under the title ―The fate of Vietnam‖ Analyzing the situation of Vietnam beside the northern giant – China through the country‘s long history, R
Kaplan has gained a sharp perception that ―the fact is, no country is as threatened by China‘s rise as much as Vietnam.‖
Examining the China factor with its impacts on the Vietnam‘s foreign strategy, scholars focus on the US – Vietnam relations as a main counterbalance for the China‘s increasing influence in the region In 2012, the CNA China Studies, a nonprofit research organization issued the report ―The China factor in US- Vietnam relations‖ edited by J Bellacqua The report focused on analyzing the bilateral relations between the United States and Vietnam under the factor which drawn the two country together – China The report indicated the shared concerns over China in South China Sea where Vietnam had some contentious encounters in the disputed waters and the US had interests in preserving freedom of navigation The report pointed out challenges that Vietnam and the US needed to overcome for the pursuit of shared interests, as well as suggested the further steps that the two countries should adopt to enhance the bilateral relations to overcome the China‘s barrier
The China factor is also seen as a catalyst in the Japan‘s defense strategy
Jeffery S Wiltse from the Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, California, United States of America published a thesis on ―The China factor in Japanese military modernization for the 21 st century‖ in 1997 The research showed that the rise of China made a remarkable influence on the Japan‘s reevaluation in the realms of security The China‘s military modernization of the People‘s Liberation Army thanks to its rapid economic development was believed to be a threat to the Japan‘s position in the region The conflicts in Senkaku Islands and the South China Sea were considered as the most direct impact on Japan and China relations Senkaku Islands claimed by both Japan and China led to the continuous dispute mainly rooted in nationalistic sentiment of the Chinese people Although in South China Sea, Japan does not claim for any disputed islands, but shares a big concern about the freedom of navigation as this area is one of the most important sea lanes for Japan
Focusing on the triangle relations between these three countries, in the article
―Vietnam between China and Japan in the Asian security complex‖, Alexander L Vuving and Thuy T Do have analyzed the influences of each country on Vietnam and figured out how this shapes Vietnam‘s strategies While the article mainly focuses on the economic domain, in which the competition between Japan and China wields its clout on Vietnam, this thesis aims to analyze the recent security cooperation between Vietnam and Japan against the background of China‘s growing hegemony in the region in order to find out how they relate to each other.
Analytical framework
The research bases on the theory of realism and multilateralism to analyze the relationship between the China factor and Vietnam – Japan relations
Realism was initiated in the 1930s as an antithesis to Liberalism If Liberalism starts from an ideal world model, Realism requires the reality in the world politics For all realists, wars and conflicts are constant fighting for power and influence expansion for the benefit of national interest Han Y Morgenthau in his famous book ―Politics among nations‖ (1948) has pointed out six principles of Realism 7 First, ―political realism believes that politics like society in general is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature.” People are always fighting for their own benefits Thus, in the relations between nations, the request for power is a permanent rule Second, in international relations, political realism is ―the concept of interest defined in terms of power”, which is the significance in the relationship between politics and reality This differentiates political sciences with other fields such as economics, morality, religions, etc., which provide the basis for political behaviors and standards of political order
Third, Realism recognizes that interest defined in terms of power is an objective discipline The political and cultural context at a determining historical situation will define the power Fourth, “Political realism is aware of the moral significance of political action It is also aware of the tension between the moral command and the requirements of successful political action” The general moral principles cannot be applied in the operations of nations Fifth, “Political realism refuses to identify the moral aspirations of a particular nation with the moral laws that govern the universe‖ All nations use the human moral laws to hide its own political purposes Sixth, ―the political realist maintains the autonomy of the political sphere; and the principle of interest defined in terms of power‖ This principle controls every political activities of a nation
Multilateralism, in international relations refers to the cooperation of many nations to achieve a common goal In the form of membership in international institutions, multilateralism allows small countries gathering together to heighten their influence on a great power In 1990, Robert Keohane defined multilateralism as "the practice of coordinating national policies in groups of three or more
7 Han Y Morgenthau: ―Politics among nations, the struggle for power and peace,‖ New York, Alfred A
Knopf, 1948 states." 8 John Ruggie, in his book Multilateralism Matters published in 1993, developed the term ―multilateralism‖ as "an institutional form which coordinates relations among three or more states on the basis of 'generalized' principles of conduct.‖ 9 In this definition, the main focus of multilateralism is the principles of conduct which determine the behaviors of nations Le Hoai Trung, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in his book Vietnam‘s Multilateral Diplomacy in the era of proactive and active integration has classified multilateralism into three main categories First, traditional multilateralism is the relationship of all nations in an international system based on sovereignty, equality and mutual acceptance
Typical examples are the multilateral systems established after the World War II such as the United Nations, and the World Trade Organizations Second, the plurilateralism shows the relations in a group of nations in the international system, which operates basing on specific principles unified by its members The European Unions can be seen as examples for the regional multilateralism Third, the poly- multilateralism includes common agreements among nations or identities which do not require a generally global acceptance such as the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), or the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
Research methodology
The thesis focuses on analyzing the relations between Vietnam and Japan with impacts from the China factor, particularly, in security sector The qualitative research methodology is applied to figure out the nature of the political relations between the two countries with the aims of answering the research questions mentioned above The information will be collected from both primary and secondary sources of Vietnam‘s foreign policy as textual sources of Vietnam‘s political discourse The primary sources are gathered from policymaking documents such as governments‘ decisions, political reports, and strategies, as well as leaders‘ declarations Interviews with experts in the political fields have been conducted to
8 Robert O Keohane: ―Multilateralism: An Agenda for Research,‖ International Journal Autumn 1990, Vol.25, P 731-733
9 J.G Ruggie (ed.): Multilateralism Matters, Columbia University Press, 1993, P 557-568 bring in-depth analysis on the topic Additionally, the information from secondary source is found and gathered in documents, studies relating to Vietnam – Japan - China relations, for example in; dissertations, journals, books related to the three countries‘ activities The time frame for the study is from 2014 up to the present aiming to provide a contemporary view on political landscape in the region.
Structure
The overall purpose of the research is to analyze the Vietnam – Japan security relations since 2014 in the context of the changing regional situation with the emergence of the Chinese hegemony and point out the current approach in Vietnam‘s foreign policy The thesis will include parts and chapters as the following:
The ―Introduction‖ introduces the research problem, objectives of the research, methodology, research questions and structure
The Chapter 1 ―The overview about the Vietnam – Japan relations‖ brings historical events which have built up the relations between the two countries with a focus on the contemporary rapprochement Vietnam and Japan are closely working to advance the relations in the fields which the two countries share common interests based on three pillars of politics, economics, and culture
The Chapter 2 ―Factors affecting Vietnam – Japan relations‖ will provide a discourse about internal and external factors forming the two-country relations My argument is the trust in politics, and comprehensive economic cooperation make Japan as a leading and long-term strategic partner for industrialization strategy of Vietnam In the context of the China‘s rise as a regional power which leads to the competition for influence in the South East Asia as well as the common concern between Vietnam and Japan regarding territorial conflicts with China, the two countries will deepen its relations with the aim of containing the China‘s hegemony in the region
The Chapter 3, the thesis focuses on the Vietnam - Japan security cooperation under the influence of the China factor Due to the China‘s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea and East China Sea, the Vietnam and Japan governments have strengthened its security cooperation with the aim of protecting peace and sustainability and development in the region The Haiyang Shiyou 981 incident can be served as an evidence for the response of Vietnam – Japan security cooperation for the China‘s assertive ambition
The ―Conclusion‖ examines the limitations in the Vietnam – Japan security cooperation and suggests the prospects in the regional cooperation under impact of the current global and regional conflicts on the triangle relations of Vietnam – Japan
- China Due to these constraints and conflicts, it is suggested for Vietnam, a relatively small country to balance the relationship with big players and follow multilateralism to protect the strategic environment of the region Together with Japan and China, the country had better enhance the multilayer cooperation to minimize the acute competition and contribute to peace and stability.
AN OVERVIEW OF VIETNAM – JAPAN RELATIONS
The history of Vietnam – Japan relations
Vietnam and Japan had diplomatic and commercial relations from the 15th century when Japanese traders started their business in Dai Viet As written in Rekidai Hoan, the initially official contact between Ryukyu and Dai Viet was recorded around 1480 Later, a Ryukyuan delegation was sent to Dai Viet in 1509 (Momoki Shiro, 1999) In 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the military ruler of Japan granted 9 permission for the vessels to sail to Southeast Asia, including northern Vietnam (Dang Ngoai), an important market for the Japanese to trade for Chinese silk In central Vietnam (Dang Trong), Hoi An seaport became famous as a rendezvous for trading key export items such as Chinese silk, calambac, aloeswood which attracted Japanese traders Nguyen Lords in Dang Trong deployed measures to facilitate foreign trade with the Japanese in Hoi An during the 17th century The fifteen letters written in 1600s between the Lord Nguyen Hoang and the Japanese shogunate in the Edo period were evidences for diplomatic relations between the two countries in the early time Thanks to these endeavors, Hoi An enjoyed a reputation among foreign merchants as one of the busiest international seaports It can be seen that from the early time, the silk maritime road in the South China Sea worked as a connecting bridge between Vietnam and Japan Through trading activities, Nguyen Lords gained benefits to buy weapons which played a crucial part in the war against Trinh Lords in the north In 1630s, Tokugawa shogunate deployed sakoku (鎖国), an isolationist foreign policy which brought significant changes in trading business between Vietnam and Japan The trading business was run by the Chinese and Dutch middleman who came to Dai Viet to buy silk with silver, then traded in Japan until the 18 th century
Since the 20th century, Japan has become a power in the region and started to send troops to invade northern China As World War I ended, Japan attended the Paris Peace Conference in January, 1919 and Washington Conference (1921 –
1922) to divide colonies Officially, Japan was recognized as a superpower in the eyes of western countries At that time, Vietnam was a part of Indochina under the French administration Realizing the geostrategic importance of Vietnam in the region, the Japanese invaded Vietnam in 1940 and worked hand in hand with the French in Indochina World War II ended in 1945, Japan lost its global power and followed the foreign policy which was characterized as ―gaiatsu‖ or ―reactivism‖
The Gaiatsu reflected the reality that ―the changes in Japanese foreign policy occurred as responses to the international community rather than to domestic needs.‖ 10 As a loser after the war with the economy dependent on the US‘s help to revitalize, Japan placed the centrality of the US in its foreign policy with a ―vague sense of hierarchy‖ to pursue post war pacifism That explained why during the Vietnam War, Japan followed American policies to Hanoi Aiming at the end of the Vietnam War with the Paris Accord, Hanoi started to search for the cooperation with other capitalist countries to reconstruct the country after the war Japan was regarded as a potential partner who could assist Vietnam to fulfill its goals Hanoi‘s policy shift meshed with the changes in Tokyo‘s policy in Southeast Asia, which strived for a more independent policy initiative – the ―omni – directional diplomacy‖ The two countries officially established the diplomatic relationship on September 21 st 1973, and Japan started to provide ODA to Vietnam soon after the latter‘s unification in 1975 Tokyo tried to improve its relations with Hanoi while remaining as an ally of Washington
During the period of 1979 to 1989, due to the conflict in Cambodia leading to Vietnam‘s international isolation, Japan stopped its assistance to Hanoi Drawing its own lessons in dealing with former allies China and the USSR, Hanoi decided to carry out the reform process in the light of ―Doi Moi‖ policy in 1986 The new thinking in diplomacy was set up for Hanoi to settle the Cambodia issue, normalize relations with China, and the US, and also re-established ties with other countries including Japan The two countries resumed the bilateral relationship in 1992 which
10 Hirata, K (1998) Japan as a reactive state? Analyzing Japan‘s relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Japanese Studies, 18(2), 135–152 also showed Japan‘s proactivism approach in foreign diplomacy Tokyo renewed its aids to Vietnam, and played an important role in calling international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund to restore ties with Vietnam Later in 2002, high ranking leaders of Japan and Vietnam agreed to promote the relations on the basis of reliable, stable, long-term partnership In the Vietnam visit of the Japanese Foreign Minister in July 2004, the two sides signed the Joint Statement "to reach new heights for the long-lasting partnership" The bilateral relationship continued to flourish to a new stage in terms of quality and depth The two countries‘ strategic partnership was formally reformed on the occasion of the visit of General Secretary Nong Duc Manh to Japan in 2009, and was elevated to the extensive strategic partnership in 2014 Vietnam has established three levels of partnership in rising order of depth including comprehensive partnership (with Australia, the US), strategic partnership (with India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia), and comprehensive strategic partnership (with China, and Russia) Japan is the first country that Vietnam enhances its strategic partnership to extensive strategic partnership.
Contemporary Vietnam – Japan relations
In the steadily changing power balance in the Pacific Asia region, Vietnam and Japan have a variety of potentials in developing relations in all fields With the aim of achieving the objectives of national fundamental interests, Vietnam has promoted three main pillars of politics, economy, and culture to establish, maintain and enhance its external relations These three pillars are also the tools to promote Hanoi‘s foreign policy toward Japan
In terms of politics, Vietnam always attaches the importance of its strategic relations with Japan as Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has shared with his Japanese counterpart that ―intensifying and consolidating the friendly and cooperative relationship with Japan is not only consistent guideline of top priority of foreign policy but also strategic choice of the Party and the Government of Vietnam‖ 11 Since the day of resuming the diplomatic relations, Japan has maintained high level official exchanges with Vietnam, namely as the visit of the Japanese Emperor and Empress to Vietnam in 2017, of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo respectively in 2013 and 2017 From Vietnam‘s side, high-ranking official visits to Japan have been paid to strengthen the ties at all levels, including 3 ones by General Secretaries in 1995, 2009, and 2015 The bilateral has been promoted from strategic partnership in 2009 on the occasion of the official visit to Japan of General Secretary Nong Duc Manh to extensive strategic partnership when Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang visited Japan in 2014 Later, in 2015 General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong led a delegation to Japan for an official visit to enhance the bilateral relations in depth Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc together with his Japanese counterpart in his 2017 visit issued the Joint Declaration on deepening the extensive strategic partnership The year of 2018 marked the 45th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Vietnam with the official visit of State President Tran Dai Quang The two countries together shared their willingness to elevate the relation to a new level for the benefits of the two peoples, for peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world
Under Abe‘s administration, Japan is deploying its ―look-south‖ strategy with the aim of expanding its influences by actively participating in multilateral arrangements in the region and tightening relations with ASEAN countries Tokyo has signed strategic partnership agreements with Australia in 2006, India in 2007, ASEAN including five bilateral strategic partnerships with ASEAN members and a separate one with ASEAN Vietnam and Japan are working hand in hand on international forums, regional mechanisms such as ASEAN+3 (includes China, Japan, South Korea), East Asia Summit Despite the US‘s withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement (TPP), Vietnam and Japan have together promoted the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
11 Thuy Thi Do (2014), ―Locating Vietnam-Japan‘s strategic partnership in the changing East Asian political landscape‖, p 6
(CPTPP) for the peace and prosperity of the region As an outcome from the efforts of the two governments, CPTPP entered into force in Japan and Vietnam respectively in December 2018 and January 2019
In terms of economic relations, the ―backbone‖ of the strategic partnership, Japan is the fourth biggest trading partner and one of the most important exporting markets to Vietnam In 2006, Japan supported Vietnam to join WTO, and was the first country of Group 7 to recognize Vietnam‘s full market economic status The two countries are now cultivating great potentials to elevate its economic relations to a higher level The two countries have focused on three main cooperation points including connection of development strategies, production capacity and human resources Japan has advantages in capital, management skills, and high-tech while Vietnam is rich in skilled workforce with improving investment environment, and the golden population structure Since 2006, Japan has become the biggest ODA provider to Vietnam which accounts for 30% of the total ODA Japan is also one of the biggest investors to Vietnam with large scale infrastructure projects such as Lang Hoa Lac High tech zone, Nhat Tan bridge, Nghi Son oil Refinery Plan, North South Express way, etc In terms of tourism, in 2019 Vietnam welcomed nearly one million tourist arrival from Japan, which made it as the second popular destination in South East Asia after Thailand 12 The number of Vietnamese tourists to Japan has reached 495000 arrivals, an increase of 27.3% in comparison with the year of 2018
Japan with its greying population has opened the labor market, which creates job opportunities to increase the number of Vietnamese workers in Japan The latest statistics of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan has shown that Vietnam now ranks second in terms of the number of foreign workers working in Japan, just behind China Out of more than 1.6 million foreign workers in Japan, workers from China are the largest (418,327 people), accounting for 25.21% and up
12 Luu Huong, ―New record on the tourist number between Vietnam and Japan‖, available at http://baochinhphu.vn/Du-lich/Nhat-BanViet-Nam-Luong-khach-trao-doi-hai-chieu-dat-ky-luc/384941.vgp accessed on February 11, 2020
7.5% over the same period last year Vietnam ranked second with 401,326 employees but has the strongest growth rate compared to the other two countries in the top 3 (26.7%) 13 This would help Vietnam take advantage of its golden population structure, receive remittances from overseas, and increase the capacity of the labor force for its industrialization and modernization process
In terms of culture, the two countries have established a long people-to- people relation since the 8th century when the Buddhist monk Phat Triet came to Japan for missionary work Bilateral exchanges bloomed in the 16th century with the appearance of Japanese towns in Hoi An and Pho Hien Vietnamese patriots, namely Phan Boi Chau, came to Japan to study the modernization model with the hope of liberating Vietnam from the French colonization The Japanese involvement in the Indochina War, resulting in the Great Famine in 1945 seems not to be a destructive factor in the bilateral relations Not like China and Korea who have never forgotten the Japanese invasion in World War II, Vietnam has adopted the future oriented outlook to close the past behind Nowadays, cultural diplomacy is playing a bigger role in promoting the images of Vietnamese country and people as a ―soft power‖ strategy Particularly toward Japan, a variety of cultural activities and performances have been organized namely as Hue‘s Royal Court Music on the occasion of President Nguyen Minh Triet‘s visit to Japan in November, 2007 To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic establishment in 2018, many cultural activities have been organized such as Vietnam Japan Music Festival with the aim of enhancing understanding and mutual trust, friendly cooperation of the two countries Abe Shinzo officially visited Vietnam 4 times in his capacity as the Japanese Prime Minister, but still recalled his Hoi An trip with Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc in November 2017 In an interview with Vietnam News Agency in February 2019, he shared his experience as wandering small
13 The World and Vietnam report, ―Vietnam places number 2 in the number of workers in Japan‖, available at https://baoquocte.vn/viet-nam-dung-thu-hai-ve-so-luong-lao-dong-lam-viec-o-nhat-ban-108727.html accessed on February 11, 2020 streets, visiting Chua Cau (Japanese Bridge) and discovering history of exchange between the two countries He was deeply-touched by the Hoi An people welcoming him on the pavements despite of the fact that their hometown had just been devastated by the Damrey storm 14 In an official visit to Vietnam in 2017, the Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiki came to Hue, the royal capital of Dai Nam The trip was organized with Nhã Nhạc performance, which shared the same roots as Gagaku, Japanese imperial court music He highlighted the bilateral cultural exchange dating back to the 8 th Century when Phat Triet, the Buddist Monk brought the Lam Ap music to the ancient capital of Nara After the visit, the image of Vietnam was still beautifully kept in their poems
Since 2008 on the occasion of the 35 th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral official relations, a number of festivals have been annually organized in many cities in both countries In these festival, traditional cultural activities are remarkable points to bridge the two cultures with long-time exchange Recently, Japanese manga and literature has been introduced to Vietnamese readers with famous works of Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto, Yasunari Kawabata, etc
Norwegian Woods, the worldwide well-known novel by Haruki Murakami was screened by Tran Anh Hung, a Vietnamese oversea director Commemorating the
40 th year of diplomatic relations, in 2013 Vietnam Television (VTV) and Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) collaborated to produce a drama ―The partner: 100-year friendship‖ (パートナー： 愛しき 100 年の友へ) about the friendship between the patriot Phan Boi Chau and doctor Asaba Sakitaro As concluded by H.E Mr
Doan Xuan Hung, former Ambassador of Vietnam in Japan, these cultural exchanges conveyed a great message from the country and people of Vietnam, thus, contributing to the promotion of tourism, and economic cooperation 15
14 Minister Abe‘s interview with Vietnam News Agency (Vietnam) February 15, 2019, https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000447605.pdf accessed on February 6, 2020
15 Nguyen Huong, ―Ambassador Doan Xuan Hung: Vietnam – Japan relations is blooming‖, available at https://giaoduc.net.vn/tieu-diem/dai-su-doan-xuan-hung-quan-he-vietnhat-dang-phat-trien-ruc-ro- post161740.gd accessed on April 5th, 2020
With variety of exchange activities, Japan in the eyes of Vietnamese people is a country with technical advance, beautiful traditions, a trustful friend with great contribution to Vietnamese development The ever-nurturing friendship funneled the donation, and support from Vietnam for victims of earthquakes and tsunami in
FACTORS AFFACTING VIETNAM – JAPAN RELATIONS
Internal factors
Vietnam and Japan relations can be said to be in such intimate period that never ever experienced in past history It is the common judgment of leaders, diplomats, researchers, and entrepreneurs of the two countries Since the establishment of diplomatic relations on September 21, 1973, the two countries have constantly cultivated to build and consolidate bilateral friendship and cooperation, with an important milestone being establishing the relationship
"Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia" in March 2014 The milestone is significant in strengthening trust and deepening furthermore the strategic partnership between the two countries, not only in the field of economics, but also in politics, diplomacy, and national security The partnership was lifted to the new height, thus ushering in the prospects trustful in politics, and comprehensive and effective in economics
Japan is the country with the 3rd biggest economy in the world, and is assessed as a partner with cultural similarity, interest compatibility and economic interdependence with Vietnam There is no political uneasiness between the two countries, which consolidated the highly mutual political trust The two countries focus on cooperation to strengthen political trust, promote economic connection and support in international issues Japan is a leading and long-term strategic partner and now occupies an especially important role in Vietnam‘s industrialization and modernization strategies
Economically, Japan has prioritized economic development aid for Vietnam
ODA funds are about 100 billion yen for North-South expressway projects, seaport projects The focus areas of development include transport infrastructure development, energy, supporting industries, human resource training, and agriculture Infrastructure is one of the top priorities in Vietnam's development strategy The projects supported by Japan contribute positively to promoting socio- economic development and modernization of infrastructure in Vietnam Currently, through JICA, Japan is actively supporting Vietnam in implementing projects to promote economic growth and enhance international competitiveness in three main areas: transportation, electricity, energy, and human resource training Outstanding projects such as Nhat Tan Bridge, North-South expressway, Hoa Lac hi-tech park, Tan Vu cross-sea bridge have become vivid symbols of Vietnam-Japan friendship
In Ho Chi Minh City, the first urban railway project (line 1) of the subway line is under construction JICA is currently supporting the construction of 5 important international ports with ODA since 1990 The Lach Huyen Port construction project inaugurated in 2018 is the first PPP project between Vietnam and Japan Regarding electricity and energy, if including the generating plants in the construction process, the electricity output of power plants built from Japanese ODA will reach 4640
MW, accounting for nearly 10% of the total output of electricity produced throughout Vietnam So far, Japan has implemented 6 projects to build thermal power plants, 6 hydroelectric power plants, including Da Nhim hydroelectric power plant, built with war compensation money in the 1960s In terms of human resources, Vietnam Japan University established in 2014 is a symbol of the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership with the hope of becoming the leading prestigious research university in Asia in various fields, especially in advanced technology and interdisciplinary sciences aiming at promoting the strengths of Vietnam and Japan
Japan has been involved in all economic fields of Vietnam not only as investors but also created a favorable investment environment to attract investors from Japan and other countries Japan- Vietnam joint initiative to improve Vietnam‘s investment environment since 2003 has resulted with significant efficiency The economic connection is one of the key points in bilateral cooperation, in which the two sides aim to make up for each other‘s weaknesses, promote their advantages and share difficulties for mutual development In other word, the economies of Vietnam and Japan are connected to complete each other
Vietnam is in its industrialization process requiring for advanced science- technology, high production capacity, good development strategies and skilled human resources which are Japan‘s advantages For the connection in development strategy, Japanese experts continue to help Vietnam draw up the line of industrial strategy and planning schemes for specific fields as following Vietnam‘s industrialization strategy within Vietnam – Japan cooperation framework to 2020, vision to 2030 The two countries have agreed on six selected industries including electronics, agricultural machinery, agricultural and fisheries product processing, shipbuilding, environment and energy saving, production of auto and auto spare parts
Namely in the field of agriculture, the two sides agreed on signing the
―vision on mid-term and long-term cooperation‖ to connect the two countries‘ economies in the hope of promoting Vietnam‘s potential and Japan‘s strengths in agriculture While Japan can only self-supply less than 40% of food 18 , Japanese investors are encouraged to directly invest in agricultural production in chains, and apply Japanese hi-tech and then export products to Japan This helps to increase Vietnamese product quality and price, thus increases Vietnam‘s export turnover
Japan now has a tendency to transfer some production sectors to other countries including high-tech agriculture due to the fact that the Japanese‘s life span is getting higher and the number of farmers is, thus, gradually reducing Moreover, Vietnam is helping to ease Japan‘s very serious labor shortage: around 300,000 Vietnamese people live and work in Japan The number of Vietnamese ‗technical trainees‘ is the largest among foreign workers and the number of Vietnamese students is the second largest after China
18 The Japan Times, Japan‘s falling food self-sufficiency, August 20, 2019, available at https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/08/20/editorials/japans-falling-food-self- sufficiency/#.XjzcSy2B0fE accessed on January 12th 2020
In terms of security, Vietnam with its geopolitical significance and its firm position in ASEAN has been put into an important place in Japan‘s diplomatic strategy As explained by Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Kunio Umeda, the first reason for the strengthened bilateral relation is that the importance of Vietnam has been increasing for Japan Both Japan and Vietnam share fundamental maritime principles that are important in the South China Sea, one of the most important sea- lanes for Japan Therefore, the two sides supported and promoted measures to strengthen political trust, connect two economies, support sustainable development, promote cooperation in national defense and security, and enhance cooperation in regional and international issues
Apart from the similarity in national interests, Vietnam and Japan share the common awareness about the current situation of the region and the world The two countries have no conflict in interest, thus cooperation is for mutual interest and contributes to ensure security and safety of the region and the world Therefore, the two sides have strengthened their activities in order to raise the spirit of respecting the law in maritime security, ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight With the goal of building a peaceful, stable, cooperative and developing Asia-Pacific region, the two countries work closely on regional and international security forums to resolve disputes through peaceful means in line with international law
The effective cooperation with Vietnam affirms Japan's southern policy in the context that Japan does not have a peaceful neighborly relationship with China, North Korea and South Korea Vietnam and Singapore are countries publicly supporting Japan as a permanent member of the United Nations Geographically, Vietnam, with its geopolitical advantage, is the gateway to the Asian continent and serves as the bridgehead on the mainland of the sea and air trade route across the Pacific Building strategic relations with Vietnam ensures the enhancement of
Japan's political role in the region As Japanese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Yutaka Yokoi said on the visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, "For Japanese people, Vietnam is always a good choice." Strategic cooperation with four ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, which attaches special importance to relations with Vietnam In ASEAN, Vietnam as the 2 nd populated country after Indonesia with its growing market is an attractive destination for Japanese investors Moreover, Vietnam is actively deploying economic reforms which have gained big achievements and gradually affirms it important positions in the region Cementing cooperation with Hanoi is a part of Tokyo‘s looking south policy with the aim of gaining trust and confidence from Southeast Asian countries
In the view of the Japanese people, North Korea is one of the biggest threats to national security The conflict between Japan and North Korea relating to the abduction of Japanese citizens from 1877 to 1983 has not been solved yet due to the North Korean closure Recently, Vietnam has shown its ability in settling international disputes with successfully hosting the 2 nd meeting between US President Donald Trump with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un in Hanoi With the traditional relationship with North Korea as communist countries, Vietnam can be considered to be an unofficial middleman between Japan and North Korea Some reports declared about the secret meeting between Japanese and North Korean representatives in Hanoi 19
External factors
2.2.1 Rising threats from China’s rise
Since Xi Jinping came to power in November 2012, China has been pursuing two foreign policy principles which are the ―path of peaceful development‖ and
―protection of core interests.‖ The former is manifested with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the latter shows the ambition of not hesitating to engage in conflicts with a slogan of ―major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.‖
Global observers see it as China‘s aspiration to re-organize the international order
As the second-largest economy, China has muscled up its military as a great power and called for a ―new security outlook‖ and the construction of a ―new type of international relations‖ and the ―community of a shared future for mankind.‖ Xi Jinping‘s administration emphasizes on protecting the national ―core interests‖ stressing on the state sovereignty (i), national security (ii), territorial integrity (iii), national reunification (iv), the general stability of China‘s political system established by the constitution, and overall social stability (v), and basic safeguards for ensuring sustainable economic and social development (vi) 20 The conception of China‘s core interest has expanded from domestic issues to sovereign territorial
20 China White Paper 2011 constraints in the East China sea (Senkaku island) 21 and South China sea (Spratly and Parcel islands) 22 China has translated economic strength into military power by its rapidly growing defense budget China as of 2015 outspent Japan in defense two and a half times over and with its annual 9% of increase China now is ranking as the 2 nd highest military spending nation after the US Beijing‘s willingness to use its emerging maritime power to put pressure on Tokyo over conflicting territorial claims in the East China Sea has been manifested as of the primary maritime challenge to Japan‘s security Additionally, China‘s territorial claim enforcement in the South China Sea has strengthened Japan‘s conviction about the coercive inclination and the challenge to change the current regional order
As a maritime state, Japan has voiced its concern about Chinese growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, especially in relation to its own tensions about the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea There is a general perception of the Japanese government that China is trying to change the current maritime regional order by force with salami slicing tactic strategy with increasing its presence in both the South and the East China Sea, and carrying out militarization of islands in these regions China attempts to change the status quo by force but not by international law or norms supported by other countries, which raises great concern to Japan In September 2010, the incident of a Chinese fishing boat crashed into a Japan Coast Guard vessel near Senkaku became thorny in two countries diplomatic relations
Two years later, the situation even became more severe when Japan declared to nationalize the Senkaku Islands The decision of the Japanese government led to large-scale protests against Japan, which fueled the burning nationalism in China
Thousands of Chinese took to the streets to protest, lighted flags, destroyed cars imported from Japan, and chanted the slogan "turning Japan into a province of China" 23 In 2013 alone, more than 200 anti-Japanese films were produced by China
China declared that the maritime identification zone in the East China Sea covering
21 China‘s foreign ministry spokes- woman, Hua Chunying declared on 26 April 2013
22 China‘s Security Law issued on July 1 st 2015
23 Chi Mai, ―Prime Mininster Abe visited China‖ available at https://news.zing.vn/thu-tuong-abe-tham-tq- tam-tan-bang-cua-doi-dau-trung-nhat-post886245.html accessed on April 23rd 2019 the archipelago, the disputed entity with other countries including Japan Beijing escalated to challenge Tokyo by sending its Coast Guard vessels into Japan‘s waters around the Senkaku Islands, which urged Tokyo to response with measures to protect its territorial sovereignty The recognition about China‘s aggressive reactions recently becomes firmly with incidents in the South China Sea The Japanese government has seen the linkage between these two conflicting areas in China‘s strategic thinking In the 2017 white defense book, the Japanese Ministry of Defense expressed ― strong concerns over China‘s activities in the East and South China Seas, where China ―continues to display what may be described as heavy- handed attitude, including its attempts to alter the status quo by force.‖ 24 Explaining for the rapid progress in Vietnam – Japan relations, H.E Mr Kunio Umeda, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam has pointed out that the first reason is the increasing importance of Vietnam to Japan while the two countries share fundamental maritime principles in the South China Sea, one of the most important for Japan While the conflicts in the East China Sea are directly associated with Japanese territorial rights, those in the South China Sea in Tokyo‘s view are relating to trade, and regional stability Clearly, as a trading nation with heavy dependence on imports for the supply of foods and resources, Japan needs to protect maritime security The US Energy Information Administration in its 2015 report showed that Japan conducted 81% of its crude oil imports, 75% of its total supply through the South China Sea Moreover, Japanese leaders can see that if China can persuade other claimants in the South China Sea about the so-called claimed historical rights, and made it as international legal norms, they could do the same in the East China Sea relating to the Senkaku Islands In sum, to protect its own interests as well as to protect the regional security environment, Japan cannot be seen as an outsider ignoring Chinese displays of expanding maritime ambitions
24 Ankit Panda, Japan pledges 6 new patrol boats for Vietnam Coast Guard, The Diplomat, available at https://thediplomat.com/2017/08/whats-in-japans-record-2018-defense-budget-request/ assessed on February
As a neighbor with China, Vietnamese leaders see threats from the North as main challenges, allies in the safeguarding of the nation While the border issues between the two communist comrades have been settled through arduous negotiations, thorny concerns now focus on maritime conflicts China‘s ambition in the South China Sea has been increased since 2007 with the establishment of the prefecture-level city of Sansha to administer the Spratly, the Paracel and Macclesfield Bank In May 2009, the China government officially presented a nine- dash-line map to the United Nations as a basis of its maritime claim The so-called nine-dash-line map covering most of water which is shared between many other ASEAN countries In 2011, The Chinese ships cut seismic cable of Vietnam‘s survey vessel Binh Minh 02 and Viking 2 within Vietnam‘s exclusive economic zone One year later, China opened international bids for 9 blocks within Vietnam‘s EEZ and allowed Hainan police to board and search ships in disputed waters in the South China Sea The two-country relations went badly in 2014 when China anchored its Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese EEZ and deployed over 80 vessels including naval warships to protect the rig Recently, China has continuously constructed artificial islands in Spratlys, which changed the status quo In October
2019, when Vietnam extended the operation of the Japanese-owned semi- submersible Hakuryu-5 oil drilling rig on Vanguard Bank, China sent Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey ship accompanied by at least two China Coast Guard vessels to the southern area of the South China Sea that violated Vietnam‘s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019) It is likely to say that China will continue to send its ships and oil rigs to the South China Sea to prevent Vietnam and other countries from conducting legal operations inside its own economic exclusive zone
The poll delivered by Pew Research Center in 2017 showed the view of Asia Pacific countries about the growing Chinese military in the region 9 out of 10 interviewees from Vietnam and Japan expressed their negative attitude about the Chinese growing military power as a bad thing to the regional security (see Figure
3) 83% of interviewees in both countries shared their concern about the territorial disputes with China (see Figure 4) In the recent survey done in 2019, Pew Research Center proved the increasing worries of 10% in Japan from 2007 to 2019 about the China growing military (see Figure 5)
Figure 2.1 China’s growing military power in the view of Asia Pacific countries 25
25 Laura Silver, How people in Asia-Pacific view China, Pew Research Center, available at https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/16/how-people-in-asia-pacific-view-china/, accessed on November 5 th , 2011
Figure 2.2 Asia’s concern about territorial disputes with China 26
Figure 2.3 Increasing worries about China’s growing military in many nations 27
26 Bruce Stokes, How Asia-Pacific publics see each other and their national leaders, Pew Research Center, available at https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2015/09/02/how-asia-pacific-publics-see-each-other-and- their-national-leaders/, accessed on November 11 th 2019
27 Laura Silver, Kat Devlin and Christine Huang, China‘s economic growth mostly welcomed in emerging markets but neighbors wary of its influence, Pew Research Center, available at
2.2.2 Asia’s pivot strategy of the United States of America
From the viewpoint of American government, their interests in the South China Sea are at risk due to China‘s economic and military rise Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared in 2011 that ―the future of politics will be decided in Asia‖ and reiterated the US‘s national interests in protecting the freedom of navigation It can be interpreted that if there is any maritime conflict leading to blockage or interference in this region, the US government will intervene to protect its own interests With the geostrategic position as the throat of the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea is the hub of sea routes for world trade accounting for USD 1.2 trillion annually This area called as ―the second Persian Gulf‖ is estimated to provide oil reserves of seven billion barrels, and about nine hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas Aiming at containing China‘s growing power, the American government has made efforts to build stronger bilateral security and defense with Vietnam through annual bilateral non-combat naval exercises in 2010, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding on advancing bilateral defense cooperation in 2011 As a traditional alliance of the USA in the Asia Pacific, Japan‘s approach to close cooperation with Vietnam is in accordance and complement the USA‘s Asia rebalancing Japan aims to protect and strengthen the US-led liberal order in East Asia Vietnam was chosen as Abe Shinzo‘s first destination in his first overseas trip during the second term as Japanese Prime Minister In this visit, Japanese Prime Minister pledged to follow 5 principles to protect free and open seas as public goods, governed by the rule of law and not by use of force as well as supporting the U.S rebalancing toward the Asia Pacific In line with the alliance with the U.S., Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force vessels were sent to the South China Sea for joint operations with the United States Navy https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/12/05/chinas-economic-growth-mostly-welcomed-in-emerging- markets-but-neighbors-wary-of-its-influence/ accessed on January 25 th , 2020 for the first time in 2015 to emphasize its interest in freedom of navigation to face with China‘s militarization of disputed features 28
The United States has been actively tightening the defense-security cooperation with a variety of measures Especially after the declaration of Hilary Clinton at ARF 2010, two former foes have been speeding up their security cooperation with initiates on maritime and organizing high- level defense dialogues as mentioned in the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding on U.S – Vietnam Bilateral Defense Cooperation The focus of cooperation includes maritime security, search and rescue program, peace-keeping, humanity and disaster relief Vietnam is opening a part of Cam Ranh port to let it be an international civil and commercial port Cam Ranh welcomed the U.S Minister of Defense in 2012 and other visits of
US Navy‘s warships in recent years Explaining for the growing defense ties, Dr
IMPACTS OF THE CHINA FACTOR ON VIETNAM - JAPAN
Enhancement in bilateral security cooperation
3.1.1 High level political exchanges and defense dialogues
In 2009 Japanese Prime Minister Taro and Vietnamese General Secretary Nong Duc Manh signed the joint statement for the establishment of the strategic partnership, which made Japan become the second strategic partner of Vietnam after Russia In this joint statement, the two countries agreed to ―promote furthermore the exchange at high level and strengthen consultations at Director- General level‖ regarding security and defense In 2011, the two parties decided to initiate a regular defense policy dialogue at vice-ministerial level to ―discuss comprehensively political, diplomatic, defense and security matters‖ (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2011) In adopting the Plan of action to implement the strategic partnership, the two sides opened Defense Attaché in each country and formally inaugurated Defense Policy Dialogue The five – year strategic partnership was promoted to the extensive strategic one in March 2014 by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and President Truong Tan Sang In terms of security and defense, Vietnam and Japan declared their shared intention of further strengthening defense and maritime cooperation It can be seen that maritime cooperation has become the focus of bilateral defense and security cooperation An explanation for this prioritizing can be given due to the Chinese growing assertive activities in the South China Sea which worry both Vietnam and Japan There is a tendency of China‘s growing aggressive attitude from May 2009 when it formally presented a nine-dash line map as a basis of its maritime claim to the United Nations and continuously cut seismic cable of Vietnam in May, June and November of 2011 The situation even worsened when China anchored its drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese EEZ In each timeline when China increased its aggressive attitude, it can be observed the tightening between Vietnam and Japan in terms of defense and security In 2017 Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Japanese counterpart Abe Shinzo once again highlighted the two countries‘ commitment to
―strengthen defense and security cooperation, to maintain and enhance the effectiveness of dialogue mechanisms and to promote the exchange of delegations at various levels.‖ To present, the two Ministries of Defense annually organize the Dialogue on defense policy in turns to share their views on international and regional issues as well as measures to enhance bilateral security and defense cooperation The mechanism for dialogues includes levels of naval, aviation officers, and general army staff officers On November 26 th 2012, the 1 st Vietnam Japan Defense Strategy Dialogue was held at the vice-ministerial level in Hanoi Later the
2 nd one took place on August 9 th , 2013 in Tokyo The latest Defense Strategy Dialogue was held in Hanoi on November 25 th , 2019 by Vietnamese Deputy Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh and his counterpart Nishida Yasunori Clearly, through comprehensive exchange dialogues, the mutual political trust and understanding have been consolidated
3.1.2 Diplomatic support and assistance to capacity building
Japan issued the first National Security Strategy in December 2013 with a note that ―in order to overcome national security challenges and achieve national security objectives, Japan needs to expand and deepen cooperative relationships with other countries (National Security Council of Japan, 2013, p.14) Following this guideline, Tokyo pushes to diversify its bilateral security ties with other countries in the region, namely with ASEAN members To Vietnam, Japan showed its diplomatic support in territorial disputes with China Publicly this backing has been framed in terms of opposition to maritime coercion to criticize Chinese policies and support for the international law- based approach to territorial disputes in the South China Sea In Shangri-La dialogue 2014, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo outlined and advocated in his speech three principle for the rule of law at sea:
―making and clarifying claims based on international law, not using force or coercion in trying to drive their claims, and seeking to settle disputes by peaceful means Abe showed Japan‘s continued support for the implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea by saying that ―I strong hope that a truly effective Code of Conduct can be established in the south china sea between ASEAN and China and that it can be achieved swiftly.‖
Receiving the Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in his official visit to Japan in 2015, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo once again shared his deep concern about the status quo changes and tensions in the South China sea such as large-scale base construction of artificial islands
Vietnam and Japan clearly declared their intention in maritime cooperation with detailed activities such as ―search and rescue and anti-piracy measures through the information exchange between coast guard agencies of both countries‖ As written in the Japan Coast Guard annual report in 2016, 57 trainees from Vietnam Coast Guard and National Maritime Bureau took part in various training programs in Japan at the invitation from Japan Coast Guard and JICA 33 Other cooperation activities include disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, counterterrorism, maritime salvage, IT training, military medicine, and peacekeeping The Japanese head of government confirmed to assist Vietnam in strengthening maritime law enforcement capability by providing used and new vessels and defense capacity building Recently, a number of Vietnamese cadets have been sent to Japan to take part in long-term study courses in the fields of flight security, aviation medicine, underwater medicine, IT, and peacekeeping 34 Deploying the joint declaration on
―extensive strategic partnership‖ Vietnam and Japan have advanced its cooperation in capacity building in maritime sector by organizing seminars, training course for the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard personnel aiming at enhancing their capacity in the maritime security and safety, underwater medicine, PKOs, flight safety, and HA/DR (Ministry of Defense, 2014)
33 Japan Coast Guard Annual Report 2016 availble at https://www.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/e/anuual_report_of_jcg.html accessed on February 4, 2020
34 Đưa hợp tác quốc phòng Việt Nam- Nhật Bản đi vào chiều sâu hiệu quả ( Make Vietnam Japan defense cooperation effective), Communist Party of Vietnam online newspaper, available at http://dangcongsan.vn/quoc-phong-an-ninh/dua-hop-tac-quoc-phong-viet-nam nhat-ban-di-vao-chieu-sau- hieu-qua-521049.html accessed on February 3, 2020
Particularly, both Vietnam and Japan share the common concern about China‘s assertiveness in maritime disputes in the East and the South China Sea respectively In this light, the bilateral cooperation plays an important role in ensuring maritime security In the summer heat of 2014, China sent Haiyang Shiyou
981 oil rig into Vietnamese waters, fueling tensions between two comprehensive strategic partners Right after, in August 2014 Japan confirmed to provide Vietnam with six patrol ships in order to strengthen the capacity of maritime security ensuring for Vietnam It could be seen that this move sent a clear message to all relating parties about the cooperation of Vietnam and Japan amid the threats to regional peace and security ―It is in Japan‘s interest to assist Vietnam in building up its civilian maritime security capacity In return, Vietnam can be expected to provide diplomatic and political support to Japan in the region‘s multilateral security institutions.‖ 35 The six used maritime patrol vessels and related equipment for the enhancement of maritime law-enforcement capabilities of Vietnam through a JPY 500 million ODA arrangement Prime Minister Abe revealed in October 2014, Japan was considering supplying the Vietnam Coast Guard with newly built maritime patrol vessels, and in November 2015 Japan took initial implementing steps (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2014) In the chain activities of the visit to Japan of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2015, the Vietnam Marine Police and Japan Coast Guard signed MOU for cooperation and a diplomatic note in which, Japan provided USD 1.6 billion in non-refundable aid for Vietnam‘s maritime safety in the 2015 fiscal year Japan committed to proactively help Vietnam improve its capacity of law enforcement on the sea by strengthening patrol capacity, upgrading equipment and facilities, promoting training and technology transfer In his visit to Hanoi in 2017, Prime Minister Abe reiterated that Japan would sell six new patrol boats for Vietnam 36
35 Thayer, Vietnam‘s Extensive Strategic Partnership with Japan available at https://thediplomat.com/2014/10/vietnams-extensive-strategic-partnership-with-japan/ accessed on February
36 Ankit Panda, ―Japan pledges 6 new patrol boats for Vietnam Coast Guard‖, available at https://thediplomat.com/2017/01/japan-pledges-6-new-patrol-boats-for-vietnam-coast-guard/ accessed on February 14, 2020
In the 2009 declaration of the strategic partnership between Japan and Vietnam, the contents relating to security and defense cooperation was only mentioned in a general manner in the future outlook for the bilateral relations with exchange of consultations These contents were obviously noted in the Memorandum in October 2011 with the promotion of mutual high-ranking defense official visits and reciprocal naval port calls Two sides shared views that military exchanges would contribute to the strengthening of mutual understanding and trust, and to the peace and stability of the region (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2011)
Unsurprisingly, with its second longest coastlines in the region, Vietnam is seen as a favorable choice for maritime security cooperation September of 2013 marked the visit of Japanese Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera to Cam Ranh Bay, one of the best natural deep-water ports in the world, the Vietnam‘s strategic naval base facing the Spratly Islands working as an important gateway to the South China Sea
Onodera visit was special as the first naval port call by Maritime Self Defense Force destroyers to a Vietnamese naval base and indicated that Vietnam regarded Japan as an important security partner On November 5 th 2015, Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatami visited Cam Ranh military port at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh At this visit, Vietnam agreed to Japanese warship visit and naval exercise 37 This visit took place at the same time with the Vietnam visit paid by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in an attempt to warm up the Vietnam – China relations after the crisis of 2014 due to territorial dispute in the South China Sea To state this move could be interpreted as the message from Hanoi to Beijing that disputes in the South China Sea would be internationalized instead of being settled as a bilateral one as the hope of China Other observers translated it as
37 Tim Kelly and Martin Petty, ―Vietnam agrees to Japanese warship visit naval exercise‖, available at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-vietnam-japan/vietnam-agrees-to-japanese-warship-visit- naval-exercise-kyodo-idUSKCN0SV0NW20151106 accessed on February 3rd 2020
Enhancement in security cooperation in the regional framework
3.2.1 ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting plus (ADMM-Plus)
Supporting ASEAN-centered multilateralism, Vietnam and Japan are actively working under the regional forum to solve disputes of common concerns
The top of priority between Japan and ASEAN was shifted from economic
38 For example: see Do Thanh Hai, “ Vietnam and the South China Sea: Politics, Security and Legality‖, pp 210-211, Luo Yongkun, ― Vietnam – Japan defense cooperation poses no threat to ties with China‖
November 28, 2015, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/953464.shtml accessed on February 4th 2020
39 Vietnam eyes secondhand Japanese defense gear, Nikkei available at https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Vietnam-eyes-secondhand-Japanese-defense-gear accessed on February 14th
40 Bộ trưởng quốc phòng Nhật Bản thăm chính thức Việt Nam (Japanese Minister of Defense officially visits Vietnam), People‘s Army Newspaper, May 2nd, 2019, https://www.qdnd.vn/doi-ngoai/doi-ngoai-quoc- phong/bo-truong-quoc-phong-nhat-ban-tham-chinh-thuc-viet-nam-573131 assessed on February 10th 2020 partnership, monetary and financial cooperation in 2003 to maintaining peace and stability to address issues relating to maritime security in 2013 41 ADMM-Plus, a platform for ASEAN and 8 dialogues partners to strengthen security and defense cooperation was inaugurated in Hanoi on 12 October, 2010 with five practical cooperation areas, namely as maritime security by reiterating the importance of resolving territorial disputes in a peaceful manner and security freedom of navigation based on international law ADMM-Plus is convened every two years, while in the intervening years, ADMM-Plus senior officials meeting (ADSOM) and the ADMM- Plus Experts‘ Working Groups (EWGs) are held to implement decisions made in the ADMM-Plus EWGs aim to address six priority areas pertaining to nontraditional security: maritime security, counter-terrorism, human assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR), peacekeeping operations, military medicine, and demining ADMM-Plus is the only official meeting among defense ministers in Asia- Pacific region Before ADMM – Plus, no meetings were held to bring defense ministers together to talk about the regional security Aiming at enhancing the regional peace and stabilities, and promote mutual confidence among all partners, ADMM-Plus countries conducted practical exercises in the areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief cooperation, military medicine exercise, counter- terrorism and maritime security As an active Plus country of ADMM-Plus, Japan supported the framework as ―a major pillar of security cooperation in the region‖
On the sidelines of the first ADMM-Plus meeting in 2010, Japan and China discussed for the first time after the Senkaku incident that happened in September of the same year In the latest ADMM-Plus informal meeting held in Thailand from November 16 th to 18 th , 2019 Japanese Minister of Defense Kono once again affirmed the view of Tokyo in opposing to all unilateral attempts to change the status quo, and coercion against other parties, settling all disputes in line with international law including UNCLOS and expected the effectiveness of the Code of
41 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ―Tokyo Declaration for the Dynamic and Enduring Japan-ASEAN Partnership in the New Millennium,‖ December 12, 2003, http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/asean/ year2003/summit/tokyo_dec.pdf, ―Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation: Shared Vision, Shared Identity, Shared Future,‖ December 14, 2013, http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/000022449 pdf accessed on February 4, 2020
Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) Under the umbrella of ADMM-Plus, for the period of 2020-2023, Vietnam and Japan will closely cooperate to carrying out co-chairing of the ADMM-Plus Expert Working Group on peacekeeping operations
From the inauguration in 2020, ADMM-plus will mark its 10 th birthday in Hanoi when Vietnam takes over the ASEAN chairmanship
With the aim of intensifying dialogues in political and security matter in the Asia Pacific region, ARF was established in 1994 ARF includes 10 ASEAN members, 10 dialogue partners (Australia, Canada, China, Russia, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the European Union, the United States), an observer (Papua New Guinea), and North Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, East Timor, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka The forum has prioritized in confidence building with preventive diplomacy tools In this 25- year old forum, multilateral talks between ASEAN members and China to settle territorial disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international rules and norms with the aim of conducting a COC in the next years While China prefers bilateral negotiations than discussions in multilateral settings, Japan encourages China to participate more proactively in ARF for information and insight sharing Due to the confrontation with China caused by Senkaku Islands incident in September 2010, Japan clearly saw the Chinese assertive ambition in the region and changed its perception of the state of affairs in South China Sea conflicts At the outset of internationalizing the South China Sea in July 2010 as ASEAN chair, Vietnam chaired ARF meeting in Hanoi with a campaign targeted the United States and Japan At this event, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared about the US ―national interest‖ in the freedom of navigation on the sea and opposed the use or threat of force by any party Opposing to Clinton‘s efforts to internationalize the issue, Chinese officials criticized the US‘s intervention in the South China Sea Yang Jiechi, Chinese Foreign Minister accused of allegedly inflaming the issue 42 Japanese counterpart Okada Katsuya also urged at the ARF meeting in July 2011 in Bali, Japanese Foreign Minister Matsumoto conveyed a message about Japanese concerns about the South China Sea situation and emphasized the importance of international law in settling disputes Later in the ARF 2014, in order to prevent countries from taking unilateral actions, Foreign Minister Kishida proposed all relating countries to follow the 2002 Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).
Recommendations for Vietnam’s strategy
3.3.1 Constraints in security cooperation with Japan
It is not difficult to understand why both Beijing and Moscow will never want their traditional socialist comrade, Hanoi move toward the US‘s alliance - Tokyo Tokyo is still negotiating with Beijing and Moscow about the Senkaku Islands and the Kuril Islands respectively Recently, the closeness between China and Russia is growing, especially after Moscow formally incorporated Crimea in
2014, which fueled a crisis with the US and the West Relating to the China‘s claim in the South China Sea, Moscow has never officially expressed its opinions while remaining as the main weapon provider for Hanoi With geopolitical interests in Vietnam, surely both Moscow and Beijing will make pressure if Hanoi slips too close to Tokyo Looking back at 1979 conflict, the lessons drawn from China‘s attack seem never fade in the mind of Vietnamese people As an unofficial ally of the USSR but Vietnam did not receive significant supports when China attacked its northern border There are still discussions about the reasons for the 1979 war, but surely it played an important role in Hanoi‘s contemporary strategies which are embedded in the Four Nos and ―clumping bamboo‖ diplomatic philosophy as former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan said ―the more independence and self-
42 Richard Weitz, ―Why US made Hanoi move‖, available at https://thediplomat.com/2010/08/why-us-made- hanoi-move/ accessed on February 12, 2020 reliance, like an ivory bamboo that will easily fall by standing alone but grow firmly in clumps.‖ 43
Additionally, Japan itself has to deal with China relating to the Senkaku Islands, so ―it is unrealistic to talk about full-scale patrol and monitoring operations in the South China Sea‖ (Asahi Shimbun, 2016) It seems to challenge Japan if China sees its activeness in the South China Sea as provocative moves In Beijing‘s viewpoint Tokyo is an outsider in this region without any claims on disputed waters or islands Zhang Junshe, Senior researcher at China‘s Naval Research Institute explained and stated that ―the Japanese Government actually has had selfish interests and a real motive to increase its influence in this area so as to meddle in the South China Sea issue‖ and in the future ―to deploy its military warships and aircrafts so as to control the shipping lanes in the South China Sea.‖ 44
In the context of the regional competition for influence in areas ranging from economics, politics, military to culture, it is of an utmost importance for Vietnam to prudently create the balance posture in its relations with Japan and China The main questions for the political strategists are how to avoid unnecessary collisions and flexibly settle arising problems and deploy counter-tactics to minimize negative impacts on the country‘s industrialization and modernization process together with protecting its national territory Following its foreign policy of independence, self- reliance, diversification, and multilateralization of external relations and active international integration, as highlighted in the recent Defense White Paper, Vietnam insists to follow the Four Nos approach to defense which is ―no military alignment or alliance with any power, no foreign military bases on Vietnamese soil, and no reliance upon another country to act against other countries, and no force or threatening to use force in international relations‖ (Ministry of Defense, 2019) No military alignment is clearly mentioned in the White Paper, however as explained
43 Vu Khoan, interview with Vietnamnet, December 20, 2013
44 Zhang Junshe, interview with the China Global Television Network, June 14, 2017 available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prCWNvaLrCo&t=4s accessed on October 23 rd 2019 by Deputy Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh in an interview that this strategy is deployed in the peace time, meanwhile in case of war suitable policies will be devised to protect the nation 45 The historical lessons from the arduous struggles for independence and more than 30 years of Doi Moi reform have proved that only multilateralization in external relations can help to maintain peaceful environment for the national development, leverage the country‘s position Thus, Vietnam will continue to ―promote defense ties with other countries to boost its capabilities in sovereignty protection and in settlement of common security challenges‖ (Ministry of Defense, 2019)
As with China, a traditional partner which places a leading position in Vietnam‘s policy but has been seen as a security threat for peace and stability, there is no doubt that containing the Chinese hegemony in the region and its assertiveness in the South China Sea is one of the thorniest tasks for Vietnam Given historical and geopolitical significance of China, it is wise for Vietnam to enhance its security relations with all relating parties to protect the national benefits but not to an extent which China understands as a provoking action Maintaining the friendly relationship with China, avoiding military confrontation and protecting the national territory are of its utmost importance for Vietnam in the years to come Political friendliness would help reduce tensions on disputed maritime issues, reducing provocative actions from China
As with Japan, it can be seen that the relations between Vietnam and Japan has not only served for economic benefits, as in the previous period but the bilateral security cooperation have been elevated to a higher place which contributes to the peace and security of the whole region Sharing the common concern about territorial disputes with China in the East and the South China Sea, the two countries can share information and experiences in settling the conflicts through dialogues and peaceful means on the basis of international law The conflict
45 Hoang Thuy, Make friends, not enemies: Vietnam military strategy of non-alignment, available at https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/make-friends-not-enemies-vietnam-military-strategy-of-non-alignment-4028125.html, accessed on November 17 th , 2019 between Japan and China relating the Senkaku Islands and the disputes in the South China Sea between Vietnam and China share similarities and differences First of all, China has deployed the same method in both disputes by laying the historical claims on the Senkaku Islands as well as the Paracel and the Spratly Islands
However, the historical factor on the Senkaku can be discussed on the basis of the current international law while in the South China Sea, the existence of historical water is not acknowledged except for the case in which it is recognized by all legal claimants Therefore, the notion of ―historical claim‖ is applied differently in the two areas Moreover, in the South China Sea, the water area surrounding the Spratly Islands was claimed by 6 parties including Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia, thus making this dispute be multilateral is the only way to solve while the dispute about the Senkaku Islands in the East Sea is a bilateral one between Japan and China
Tri-party cooperation framework such as Vietnam – Japan – Phillipines or Vietnam – Japan – USA can be considered to be a scenarior to flourish security ties in the region The Philippines is dealing with China relating to the Scarborough, which makes it as a ―natural ally‖ with Vietnam in this dispute While the Philippines and Japan are both formal allies with the USA Thus, the tri-party framework can be utilized as a channel for intelligence exchange and information gathering in terms of urgency Geostrategic importance of Scarborough Shoal cannot be denied in case that China can finish its military posts in South China Sea, the freedom of navigation and the safety of sea lanes of communication will be put into a disadvantageous position 46 In view of the relation between China‘s assertiveness in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, the tri-party cooperation should be promoted to demonstrated the unified will to jointly contain Chinese aggressive behavior, address maritime disputes cooperatively to make sure the freedom of navigation, peace and security Additionally, the prospect of regional security also depended on the U.S.‘s engagement as the major counterweight to
46 Personal interview with Shin Kawashima, Professor at the University of Tokyo
China 47 This can be explained by Japan‘s constraint under the Article 9 of Constitution and the limitations of Vietnam‘s defense budget in comparation with China‘s
In terms of economics, Professor Kawashima added that the growing economic interdependence through trade and investment with China would work as a hedging policy to discourage it from taking military confrontation China needs to consider its economic benefits before deciding to increase its aggressive attitude with relating partners in maritime territorial disputes In the context of the trade war between the USA and China, in 2018, Tokyo moved a closer step to China with the first visit of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to China This visit to China must have been a memorable one for Mr Abe to convey the message of his desire to strengthen bilateral relations with the world's largest, most populous neighbor, and currently the second largest economy in the world The impression throughout the visit was the warm attitude of both sides The head of the Japanese government also stated that this was a turning point in Japan - China relations and the two countries would raise relations to new heights During the trip, more than 50 agreements between Japanese and Chinese businesses and organizations were signed at USD 2.6 billion 48 Agreements related to infrastructure, transportation of goods, health services, and finance all brought great prospects for cooperation This is really the starting point for a new relationship between China and Japan The two heads of nations also made very positive statements Speaking in Beijing, Prime Minister Shinzo said that "Japan and China are neighbors and partners, and must avoid becoming a threat to each other." Bilateral relations have entered a new phase of transition from competition to cooperation‖ In response, General Secretary Xi Jinping also optimistically stated that although China-Japan relations have
47 Personal interview with Dr Tomotaka Shoji from Japan‘s National Institute for Defense Studies
48 Shi JiangTao, ―China – Japan ties at historic turning point after Shinzo Abe‘s visit, but can the good will hold?‖, South China Morning Post, October 28 th 2018, available at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2170469/china-japan-ties-historic-turning-point-after- shinzo-abes-visit accessed on April 20th 2019 experienced instability, they are now "back in orbit" 49 In the new context, the interdependence between the two countries has been deepened by mutual benefit sharing in multilateral areas
In view of the long history between the two countries, the relations of two leading socialist parties and economic relations, it is not simple for Vietnam to confront China aggressively Therefore, given China‘s maritime ambitions and its growing capacity, it is of an utmost importance for Vietnam to maintain a balance in order to protect the national interest while avoiding the possibility of an armed conflict with China Hanoi will not give up its Four Nos defense policy to keep a status quo While many observers have suggested about a shift to political alliance by strengthening security ties with its strategic partners such as Japan, the US, India, Russia and the Philippines, the security cooperation between Vietnam and its strategic partners should be enhanced by bilateral and multilateral layers at the aim of protecting peace, sustainability and development in East Asia and Asia- Pacific but not of fighting against any other country in the context that many complicated conflicts co-existed in the region Regional cooperation will not only promote economic interests, or strengthen the national position but also balance power in the regional geopolitical space This would let all countries adjust their own strategies for not losing influence in the region which is seen as the center of the 21 st century
49 Philip Wen, China‘s Xi says Japan relations back on right track: state media, Reuters, October 26 th 2018, available at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-japan-relations/chinas-xi-says-japan-relations-back-on- right-track-state-media-idUSKCN1N01EM