Faced with American and Chinese threats, Tokyo and Hanoi strengthen their ties
At a bilateral summit held in Hanoi at the end of April, the Japanese Prime Minister and his Vietnamese counterpart agreed to strengthen relations between their countries. Their goal is twofold, according to the Japanese press: to counter Chinese influence in the region while protecting their trade freedoms, which are threatened by Donald Trump's tariff policy.
The wind is rising, we must try to live. At the Japan-Vietnam summit in Hanoi on April 28, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, all smiles, vigorously shook hands with his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Minh Chinh.
The Southeast Asian country has always been an important trading partner for the archipelago, particularly because of its large community of Vietnamese workers – 600,000 of whom are employed in various sectors of the Japanese economy to fill the gap created by the declining population , according to Japanese government statistics relayed by VietJo , a website specializing in Vietnamese news.
But today, more than ever, China's rise to power and Donald Trump's return to power reveal the importance of coordination between the two countries, giving this meeting exceptional significance.
During the nearly two-hour meeting, the two leaders agreed to create a new "two plus two" dialogue framework at the vice-ministerial level in the field of defense, reports the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun .
“The idea is
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