Japan, Vietnam Maritime Security Cooperation
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Vietnamese Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan agreed to continue bilateral efforts to ensure maritime security, underlining the importance of respecting the rule of law.
Kishida and Doan also discussed matters related to the South China Sea, the ministry said. The sea is the focus of lingering tensions over territorial rows between China and Southeast Asian countries, notably Vietnam and the Philippines.
Kishida was quoted as saying Japan wants to increase cooperation with Vietnam over wide-ranging issues such as maritime security.
Japan will help train maritime lecturers for Vietnam under an agreement signed in Hanoi between the Vietnam Maritime Administration and the Seamen’s Employment Center of Japan (SECOJ).
The annual training course is dedicated to four Vietnamese lecturers aged 25 to 50, who work for maritime training schools with at least one year of experience.
Naoya Nakamura, who is in charge of the cooperation program, said that all Vietnamese lecturers have well met the requirements of the course, adding that there are only two percent of sailors working on Japanese ships are Japanese citizens.
According to Nguyen Nhat, head of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, there is a high demand for skilled maritime workers in the country now but local schools are still unable to satisfy it.
