Post-Abe, Vietnam-Japan Relations Have Nowhere to Go But Up

Whoever succeeds Abe Shinzo, the two nations have ample reasons to widen and deepen their cooperation across a host of domains.

Both Japan and Vietnam have territorial and maritime disputes with China in the East China Sea and South China Sea, respectively.

For Japan, a stronger Vietnam helps resist Chinese domination of the South China Sea, thus relieving Chinese pressure on Japan in the East China Sea.

Quality infrastructure projects connecting ASEAN members, supported by Japanese funding and technology, will not only underpin and secure Japan’s continued economic engagement in the region in the years to come; they will also boost the prospect for increased intra-ASEAN trade, thus ameliorating the bloc’s heavy reliance on trade with China.

Given its demographic challenges and other domestic conditions, Japan’s future economic growth is set to lag further behind China’s, making it difficult for Japan to rise to the challenge of competing with China’s economic and military influence in Southeast Asia.

Regarding the South China Sea disputes, Vietnam has encountered significant challenges in developing a unified ASEAN stance, partly due to China’s economic leverage over other ASEAN members.

This article was written by Hanh Nguyen

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