Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, front right, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, front left, walk at the Government Office in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, Pool)
JAPAN and Vietnam agreed to boost bilateral trade and uphold global rules on the free flow of goods as Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi while both countries engage in talks with Washington to avoid tariffs.
Ishiba’s first trip to Vietnam yesterday, and his subsequent visit today to the Philippines, mark the latest high-level East Asian meetings amid escalating global uncertainty triggered by the threat of crippling US tariffs.
“The world economy is becoming more uncertain, and the impact on the South-East Asian region is also becoming apparent,” Ishiba told reporters yesterday after a meeting with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Chinh.
In recent weeks, Vietnam has hosted China’s President Xi Jinping and top South Korean ministers, while Tokyo has held a trilateral meeting with China and South Korea.
Early this month, the White House slapped “bilateral tariffs” of 46% on Vietnam and 24% on Japan. Those duties were later paused until July as bilateral talks are underway, but a 10% levy applies on all imports into the United States, which is a major market for both countries.
“We will cooperate to maintain a free and open international order based on the rule of law,” Ishiba told a joint press conference with Chinh.
Vietnam is a major assembling hub for large Japanese manufacturers, with a total of US$78bil (RM340bil) invested in the country by Japanese firms, according to Vietnam’s finance ministry. Japanese banks also hold strategic stakes in top Vietnamese lenders.
“The two countries agreed to uphold the global order of free trade based on international rules,” Chinh said, after the two leaders signed four cooperation deals, including on boosting trade in energy transition products and on research and development on semiconductors. — Reuters
